New World, Old Fight
by Dannylionthe1st
Summary: Post Awakening. Selene finally reunited with those she loves. They decide to help the vampires return to their former glory. But a new enemy has different plans for both species, one that involves the complete eradication of vampires. David/OC
1. New Enemy

**Post Awakening. Selene finally reunited with those she loves. They decide to help the vampires return to their former glory. But a new enemy has different plans for both species, one that involves the complete eradication of vampires. David/OC and Selene/Michael.**

**A/N: Hope you guys like it. Reviews are welcomed. Concrit is loved as well. I like to improve so if you see something is wrong then tell me. I will do my best to fix it.**

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><p>Luke and his friend stared at the screen as the security camera footage ran. It showed Selene calmly walking into Antigen. Then it followed her battle as she killed and destroyed every lycan that attacked her. Luke couldn't help but snarl in disgust. His brethren did their best to stop her, but they were no match.<p>

His friend, Jed, muttered and cursed, his lycan features slowly revealed themselves with each kill. They didn't have to worry about any human revealing who they were. After the second cleansing, the lycans were able to find a steady and firm foothold in the government. The vampires were at a disadvantage because they could not walk in the sun. And with Selene held captive, the lycans were free to expand and become stronger than they ever were before.

There were three other lycans in the room, Luke's guards. Luke's father was the alpha male of their clan. Like the vampires, the lycans had leaders and were separated by clans. Only the best had survived the cleansing. Luke, himself, was one of the candidates for the new drug that Dr. Lane was developing. His father was grooming him to take over the clan. And Jed was going to be Luke's right hand man.

A chill ran down Luke's spine, forcing him to turn around. He used all of his mental strength not to look surprised as the woman glided toward him. She was beautiful. Her long curly red hair seemed to brighten her pale skin. She wore a long black dress and it was impossible to see her feet. Her gracefulness was supernatural and it looked as if she was gliding toward them.

On either side of her were two guards who were bigger than anyone else in the room. Luke's men tensed ever so slightly, but seemed to calm when her two guards revealed themselves to be lycan.

Luke did his best not to let his jaw drop. His father had warned him to look out for her. He had said, that a graceful and beautiful creature would come, but that she was deadly and to be careful. However, she was on their side and to follow her orders. But he had never expected to see such a lovely and delicate looking creature.

She didn't say a word as she positioned herself in between Luke and Jed and looked at the screen.

"I'm going to kill that bitch!" Jed snarled as he whirled around, expecting Luke to join him. Instead, he gasped in surprise when he looked at the woman. "Who are you?" he snapped.

She gave no indication that she heard him as she paused the tape. Her jaw moved ever so slightly from irritation. "Did Dr. Lane survive?" she asked.

"No ma'am," Luke replied. He had never met her before, but she had a presence about her that scared him. He felt as if he were standing in his father's presence.

"Good," she simply said.

"Good?" Jed snarled. Evidently, he didn't feel the need to respect this woman, whoever she was. "He was a lycan who was trying to help us become stronger and you say well?"

"How did he die?" she asked, ignoring Jed's attitude.

"Fucking hybrid," Jed answered.

Luke shot him a warning glance, but his friend didn't look at him. Jed was glaring at this woman.

"Destroy this whole place. Leave nothing. No bodies, no papers, no files, nothing!" she commanded as she turned.

Jed grabbed her shoulder and ignored the growls from her bodyguards. She gave them a quick glance, silencing them, before looking at Jed. "Who the fuck are you to command us?" he snarled as more of him turned into a lycan.

Jed gasped in surprise and blinked a few times before he fell to his knees then onto the ground, dead. The woman held his heart in her hands and just stared at his body as if it were inconsequential. She slowly turned her attention to Luke. His guards snarled and readied themselves to attack. Her men glared at his.

"I want everything in this facility destroyed," she commanded in a cool and calm voice.

Luke nodded. She turned her back to him. "But," he cursed himself for saying that word. Instinctively, his hands covered his chest, even though he knew it would be futile.

"Yes?" she asked.

"The vampires have hybrids on their side," he pointed to the screen. In it was Selene, Michael, their daughter Eve and another vampire. He knew that at least three of them were hybrids. Even though lycans were now more in number than the vampires, the hybrids leveled the playing field a bit. "Wouldn't it be wiser to continue Dr. Lane's experiments and make stronger lycans?"

She looked at him curiously with her blue eyes. "There are enough hybrids ruining this world," she finally stated. But then she nodded. "Although it seems like a wiser decision, look what has happened." Her hands moved smoothly, pointing to everything around them. "Instead of having two hybrids against us we now have three."

He frowned as he watched her. "You're a vampire!" he finally accused. He was sure of it. Her eyes were a natural blue, but she wasn't lycan and she wasn't human.

She cocked her head and let a very small smile cross her lips. "I am," she said as her eyes glowed bright blue.

He snarled in anger as he jumped back, ready to attack her if he needed to defend himself. Her bodyguards didn't flinch as they watched him.

She laughed as she shook her head. "It was not my choice to become a vampire," she stated. "I owe them no allegiance. No." Her eyes wandered from him to the screen and she placed her hand on Selene's image. "She killed my brothers," she stated, anger was in her voice. "We don't need their blood. Michael's already tainted Corvinus blood is of no use to us." She smiled as she looked at him. "There is a faster way. We will find the last of my father's line. And then we will harvest their blood to make a lycan hybrid army that Selene and her half breeds can't defeat."

Luke stared at her. "What?" he asked. He knew the legends thoroughly. "Alexander Corvinus only had three sons. And Michael Corvin was the last of the line."

"And two daughters," she corrected. "History never counted women. One was hidden and allowed to live her life in peace. The other was hunted and turned into a vampire to keep Marcus in line."

"The vampires were made by Marcus. Why go against his line?" Luke couldn't help but ask.

Her eyes narrowed before she laughed, shaking her head. "Marcus may have been the means, but the vampires have always been under Viktor's rule. They are his legacy, not my brother's. But you, lycan, are my brother's William's legacy. I will not rest until all the vampires have been destroyed. And we'll start with her family." She pointed to Selene.

He stared at the screen that held the images of the hybrids, but he really wasn't looking at it. His mind was reeling from what she had said. If no one knew or thought to look for this last line, then they were in luck.

"When you are done then I have a different mission for you. Something I will need your nose for." Her smile was evil and seducing as she looked at him.

"Right away," he said with a nod of his head. He had to trust his father on this. His father had told him to trust her. And, for a vampire, she was rather pretty. He also knew what it felt like to want revenge. And that was clearly written all over her face.

She snapped her fingers and one of her bodyguards picked up the body of Luke's dead friend. Luke turned his face away so he didn't have to look at Jed. In the end, it would have been her or Jed. The young lycan would have foolishly attacked her the instant he realized that she was a vampire. There was no doubt. Still, Luke had lost a friend.

"I hope I'm there to see your face when our more powerful hybrids destroy your family," he said with a laugh at Selene's image.

* * *

><p>Selene stood on top of a dam, looking out in the direction of the city. The lights were faint as it was very far away. She was worried. It had been nearly six months since the events in Antigen. The world around her was still strange. A lot had changed in the twelve years that she had been asleep. The "cleansings" had nearly destroyed the vampires and had claimed to have annihilated the lycans. But the lycans had not become extinct as reports had claimed, but instead had put themselves into positions of power. Their ability to walk in the sun made it easy for them to con humanity.<p>

Although she had, in a way, rejected the vampires by not only taking a lycan lover, but turning him into the first hybrid, Selene was still in many ways a vampire. It was strange to see that in twelve short years the vampires went from living rich lives in grandiose covens, to miserable lives underground. They had essentially switched lives with the lycans. She didn't like it.

Selene wasn't chilly as the breeze from the dam coursed around her. Still, in an act of humanity, she wrapped her arms around her chest. An arm wrapped around her and pulled her close to another body. She didn't have to look to see who it was. She had already memorized Michael's touch.

It had taken her and Eve only a short time to find Michael. Michael was shocked and surprised when he was introduced to his daughter. The little girl was just as happy to see him as Selene was. Together, the three, and their new vampire friend David made their way back to the decimated coven.

Thomas, the coven leader, was none too happy to have three hybrids in his coven. He would never admit that he needed their help. But Selene knew that he was secretly happy they were there. Still, their return to their former glory was slow.

The whole reason why Michael was created was to make a sort of peace and alliance between the two warring species. But the lycans were having none of it. Michael had been the one to suggest if they could make peace. After all, it seemed as if the humans were against both of them.

The Antigen facility that Selene partially destroyed was used as an example of what vampires could do. The news had covered it extensively, calling the vampires desperate. The building was abandoned and nothing was left inside: no papers, no machinery, no bodies, not even a chair. There was no word that Antigen was made up of lycans. In fact, Antigen, itself, had turned from a biotech pharmaceutical company into a company supplying citizens with basic weapons to harm vampires only. Their whole focus and market quickly turned against vampires.

As for lycans, the news could not dismiss their sightings as they had attacked a van in a busy street. Instead, they painted the lycans as innocent victims. "Experts" started to come out, saying that lycans were the lesser of the two evils. They didn't rely on blood, they only changed once a month, and they were misunderstood. In three months, lycans had gone from being as reviled as vampires to being exonerated.

Michael made several attempts to contact the lycans and try to make peace. After all, he was not a man of war. In his mind, he had two women to look out for now, Selene and their daughter Eve. He could not stand the thought of both of them fighting for their lives. But the lycans were having none of him.

Selene turned and looked at Michael as her hand touched his chest. They had almost killed him two weeks after the events with Antigen. He had gone, "without" her knowledge, to a meeting with some lycans. They had feigned wanting peace and he had believed them. It was a trap. There were many of them and their intent was to kill him. But she and David had followed him. He was easy to read and she knew what he was up, too. Inwardly, she had been hoping that he had been correct and able to make peace, but she knew it wasn't going to happen. Their species had been at war since their very beginning with both sides committing atrocities. And now the lycans had an upper hand. There was no way that they would want peace now. There was nothing in it for them.

Selene let out a sigh and Michael followed with his sigh.

"I'm worried," Michael said, echoing Selene's thoughts.

"As long as we are together we will be fine," Selene said, allowing herself to show some emotion. She was used to acting and feeling cold hearted, but she had learned to allow herself to show more feelings around Michael and their daughter. Both of them needed it more as they had more human emotions.

Michael kissed her on the forehead as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. "They grew strong really quickly," he said.

She nodded her head.

Michael sighed again. "I wish our lives could be this peaceful," he said.

Selene couldn't help but nod. In addition to having to protect Michael, since he was still fairly new to the supernatural world, she had to protect their daughter as well. It was growing tiring for her, emotionally more than anything. She loved them both dearly, but she couldn't help but wish for a peaceful day with no interruptions and no need to worry about an attack from the lycans.

Of course, there was really no reason to worry that the lycans would find them in their new coven. As with the old, it was underneath a dam. But no one was going to betray them this time. Thomas and the other vampires quickly learned that having hybrids on their side was better than nothing.

"There you are," David's cool voice said.

Selene pulled away from Michael, but let her hand wrap around his. She didn't like to act emotional around other people.

"My father is looking for you. Your detective human spy has news for us." He motioned for them to follow and they did.

Detective Sebastian stood uneasily beside a large stone table that had a cardboard box on it. He looked at Selene with relief. It was because of his wife that he had an allegiance with the vampires. Risking his life, job, and everything to be there meant that his news was big.

"What's wrong, detective?" Selene asked as they walked over to him.

Thomas had his arms crossed as he gave Selene a quick glance.

Sebastian slightly fidgeted before he let out a sigh. "The lycans are up to something," he finally said.

"How very astute of you," Thomas said sarcastically. "I'm sure that bringing us this news was warrant enough to possibly lose your life?"

Sebastian gave him a quick glance before he dumped the contents of the box onto the table. "Something was wrong these past five months, but I couldn't put my finger on it. When the media started to focus more on vampires and less on lycans I noticed a stronger trend of murdered humans by lycans. My boss wouldn't let me investigate them. Then a week ago, my boss told me to stop investigating the murder of a young man by a vampire."

He paused for a brief moment and looked at Selene. "It wasn't a normal murder. This man had been drained by a vampire then his face was mutilated beyond recognition, no finger prints and his teeth knocked out. There is no way to identify him. But he had clearly been feed on. When my boss told me to stop investigating I didn't. The next day, a vampire was caught and "confessed" then he was dragged out into the sun and killed. My boss told me to close the case. I did, but something was wrong."

Sebastian pulled out the file and let it open, revealing graphic pictures. Selene picked on up and looked at it.

"We don't need to disguise the identity of our victims," Thomas snarled.

Sebastian nodded in agreement. "I agree. So I looked into more cases in my spare time."

David and Michael started to open the other folders. "The same," David said as he pulled out another picture.

Sebastian nodded his head. "There is only one other case of this type of murder in this city. It happened five months ago. The rest of these cases are not from here."

Thomas looked annoyed. "They caught the vampires who did this," he said. "Why are you wasting our time?"

Sebastian shook his head. "I don't believe they did. These murders started just after the cleansing. Look, in eighty percent of these cases they are closed by the same detective, Detective Anderson. And about five months ago, a Detective Anderson joined my station. He closed the other case that is exactly like this. I don't think I was supposed to get this case."

Selene frowned.

"And," Sebastian continued. "You would think that news like this would be in the media. The media has done what it can to make you look like monsters. Except, this story has never aired. There was one reporter there, talking pictures and writing. When I called them up about what they found out about the story they couldn't even remember what I was talking about."

Thomas frowned as he picked up one of the pictures. It was true. Nearly every death and murder had been pinned on vampires, no matter if they were done by lycans or human. The vampires had become the scapegoat for all things bad.

"What are they after?" Selene asked.

Sebastian shrugged. "I don't know," he said.

"What do you expect us to do?" Thomas snapped. "We are not babysitters."

Sebastian gulped. "I know," he slightly stammered.

"Then you thought this 'information' would be worth coming here?" Thomas couldn't help but let his lips curl back. What did this kind of information mean to them? Yes, it was suspicious, but at the same time what could they do about it. There was no way of knowing why these people were targeted.

"I think I know who the next victim is."

David looked at the man in surprise. "How did you figure it out?" he asked, curious of the answer.

Sebastian fidgeted then finally answered. "I got a tip," he answered.

Immediately, everyone seemed suspicious.

"And who would have figured it out?" Selene asked.

"I don't know," Sebastian admitted. "The man on the phone wouldn't tell me, but he sent me these." He put one final folder onto the table and opened it. There were many pictures of a woman. Most of them looked like home pictures, but in the bottom were surveillance pictures. She had shoulder length red hair. She appeared to be in her early to mid-twenties. A few pictures were of her at the local university. She appeared happy and carefree. The pictures themselves seemed very cliché.

Selene pulled out on of the surveillance photos then took another. "She's being followed," she stated.

"What?" Michael asked as he looked at them.

The woman in the picture was with another man and neither appeared to notice two men following them.

"Lycan," Selene stated matter-of-factly.

"Why?" Michael asked as he looked at Selene as if she knew the answer.

"Could it be that there is another descendent of Corvinus?" David asked as he made sure that all the surveillance photos were in view. In each one, the woman's unknown followers were visible. Most of the pictures had her with her male companion. Only a select few had her alone. It was clear that her and her male companion went nearly everywhere alone. But she was clearly the target.

"That's impossible," Selene said. "Michael is the last."

"I know I can't trust my boss. He's in on something. I can't send them a letter warning them of the danger. And I can't personally go and warn them. Coming to tell you is less of a risk than warning them." Sebastian said.

Selene nodded in agreement.

"I should go. All are copies but her pictures," Sebastian said. "Maybe you can find something that I can't. Someone is trying to keep these murders from being noticed, but they're leaving the bodies in areas to be found. I have a very bad feeling about all this."

Selene nodded her head in agreement again. Sebastian was right. There was diffidently something wrong with the murders. The girl was probably innocent, like Michael was; unknowing that she was going to be the next victim for supernatural beings. Still, what exactly were the lycans up too? Was it possible that there was another descendent of Corvinus that had been over looked?


	2. The Chase

_ "William, no!" thirteen-year-old Erzsebet cried as her oldest brother picked her up. He let out a howl as he tossed her into the lake before them. _

_"Will!" eleven-year-old Abel shouted as he tackled his brother. William shrieked as he lost his footing and rolled into lake. Marcus laughed as he ran into the lake to play with his siblings. _

_Alexander chuckled as his wife, Helena, grabbed his hand. It was a perfect day. Helena let go of her husband's hand and went to set up their lunch. They normally had servants to service them, but Helena had insisted on spending a day with just the family. Alexander could never deny his wife anything she asked for. _

_Erzsebet laughed as she splashed her brothers. She only had one more year before she married and moved to her husband's home. Alexander couldn't help but wish that his daughter didn't have to leave so soon. But, that was the life that they lived. The fact that her husband was only a few years older than her was a blessing. Not all noble girls were given the option of marrying a noble man who was their age. _

_ A hand grabbed Alexander's pants, forcing him to look down. His youngest daughter stared at her siblings as they played in the lake, but held tightly onto her father's leg. _

_"What's wrong, bright one?" he asked her in a calm voice. _

_The little girl didn't at him as she put her thumb into her mouth. She was the youngest of their five children, barely five years old. He reached down and picked her up. She gladly wrapped her arms around his neck as he walked toward the water. She, like her sister, wore a long plain dress so that she could swim and get wet. _

_"Marcus!" Alexander called out to his eldest son. _

_Marcus quickly straightened as he nodded. "Yes, father," he said. _

_"Come for your sister," Alexander said._

_"No!" the little girl called out as she hugged her father and looked away. _

_"Come now, silly," Marcus teased as he walked out of the water. _

_"I don't wanna," she pouted. _

_Alexander let out a chuckle as she let him go and allowed her brother to hold her. She quickly wrapped her arms and legs around him, refusing to let him go. _

_"You know how to swim!" Marcus accused as he walked into the water._

_"I don't care," she said as she held her nose up in the air. _

_"Race you!" William challenged Erzsebet as he dove underwater. _

_"No fair!" Erzsebet shouted as she tried to swim after her brother. _

_"Wait for me!" Abel shouted._

_Marcus looked at them longingly, but didn't try to join them. His little sister was scared and he wasn't about to make her more afraid. "It's okay," he whispered as she shivered. "I won't let you drown."_

_Her eyes wandered across the water then over to her siblings who swam in the middle of the lake, splashing each other. Slowly, she let her brother go and started to tread water. Marcus smiled, but didn't move. _

_"Want to go further?" he finally asked her. _

_"It's the water monsters that I'm afraid of," she finally admitted._

_"Will!" Marcus shouted at his twin. "Did you tell her that there were monsters in this lake?"_

_William's laugh was all that he needed to confirm his suspicions._

_Marcus rolled his eyes and focused on his sister. "There are no monsters in the lake," he said. "Besides, you are too cute and tiny for them to want to eat you."_

_"I'm not tiny!" she pouted, despite the fact that she was the youngest and smallest of them._

_Marcus chuckled. "Come," he said as he beaconed for her. _

_She sighed as the two slowly made their way toward the others. The lake was large, dark and murky. She looked down into the water as she swam. Her heart pounded in her chest from fear. "Marcus?" she asked in fear as she stopped. _

_Something moved below her. It was a pale person. A hand reached out and grabbed her leg. She shrieked in fear as the person's eyes turned bright blue and revealed fangs. It bit into her leg as it dragged her into the abyss. Her siblings tried to get to her, but no one could. _

* * *

><p>"Claire!"<p>

Claire shrieked as she jumped up in surprise. Her eyes were wide with fear as she looked around.

"Pretty cliché to fall asleep at the library," James, her friend and librarian, said.

Claire blinked a few time, trying to remember where she was and why she was there. "Sorry," she murmured. Her body shook with fear and she tried to cover that by stacking the books that were around her.

"You told me to make sure that you left the library before nine," James said as he grabbed the books and placed them into his cart. "And it is eight forty-five."

"Yeah," she responded. "Thanks."

James shrugged. "Glad I came when I did. Sounded like you were having a nightmare," he said.

She shuddered at the thought. "Yeah," she said. "Dreamed about that pool party we were at the other night."

James stopped moving and let out a content sigh as he thought about it. "How was that a nightmare?" he asked with a chuckle.

Claire sighed. "We were all swimming in the pool when suddenly I was the only one. I started to drown and no one was helping me. Then a clown appeared and walked over to me. He turned into a vampire and was going to bite me. Glad you woke me when you did."

James laughed as he nodded. "Well," he said. "A vampire would be an idiot to attack in front of a crowd."

She nodded her head in agreement.

"Aren't they close to extinction now?" he asked. "I mean, they have got to be close. Antigen and the world governments did two pretty thorough cleansings."

Claire shrugged. "How would I know?" she asked.

"What are you researching?" He picked up one of her books and looked at it.

Claire's instincts forced her to reach for the book so he wouldn't read it. She wasn't sure why she tried to stop him.

He pulled away and shook his head. "The Bloody Countess: Atrocities of Erzsebet Bathory," he read.

"Yeah," she admitted. "Since vampires were outed I decided to see how far back I could trace them. My own curiosity."

"And?" he asked her. "You think she was a vampire?"

Claire put one hand into her red hair and scratched her head from nervousness. "I don't know," she said with a shrug. Her cellphone rang, giving her an excuse to stop their conversation. "Hello," she answered. "Oh shit! Sorry, Sam. Yeah. I'm coming. Bye." She quickly hung up the phone as she put her pen and papers into her school bag

"I'll see you later, James," she said as she rushed out.

He waved to her then looked back at the book. He shrugged and shook his head as he returned it. He cared nothing for vampires or lycans. The two creatures were fighting a losing battle and he cared less about human history. Why would he care about the history of two supernatural beings?

* * *

><p>Claire opened her umbrella and quickly walked down the library steps, heading to the car that awaited her.<p>

"Sorry, Sam" she said as she got in and closed the door.

"Whatever," he responded as he put the car in drive and moved into traffic.

Claire sighed as she looked out the window and focused on the passing buildings. She frowned. They weren't going back home. "Where are we going?" she asked as she sat up straighter.

"I… I got offered job," Sam said in a soft voice.

"What?" Claire asked, she couldn't help but sound slightly excited. "Where? When?"

"Overseas," he said as he gave her a quick glance. "America. Next week."

Claire stared ahead in surprise. "We… we just moved here," she said.

He nodded his head. "I know," his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Can you…" she paused then continued. "Can you promise me that we can stay in our new spot for more than a few months?"

"No," he said truthfully.

Claire frowned then sighed. "I'm getting tired, Sam," she said. "Tired of constantly moving and…" She turned to her left and looked at him. The words stopped in her throat and refused to come out as something ran at them. She screamed.

Sam didn't hesitate as he forced her to put her head in between her knees. He slammed on the accelerator. The tires slide, forcing the car to hydroplane. The lycan slammed itself into the back of their car, spinning them. Sam firmly held onto the wheel as he twisted and rotated it with the movement of the wheels.

Two cars behind them hit their brakes and slid into each other, blocking the road.

When Sam's car stopped they ended up facing their oncoming traffic.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Claire said as she looked up. "Sam!" she screamed as she pointed in front of them. The lycan slowly stood up and roared at them.

Sam quickly put the car into reverse and put his hand on the back of Claire's seat as he drove. He knew he had no time to spin the car around. The lycan ran after them. Claire pressed her body back against her seat as if it would keep her further away from the creature. It was gaining speed and catching up to them.

"Faster!" Claire shrieked in fear.

"My bag!" Sam yelled, keeping all his attention on the road behind them.

Claire forced herself to look away and unzipped the duffle bag that was in the backseat.

Sam couldn't drive backwards anymore and took a risk. He forced the car to spin so that it would face forward again. Within seconds, he placed it on drive and hit the gas. The tires found the pavement and was soon speeding down the main road. The car bounced as the lycan jumped onto the trunk.

Claire pulled out the contents of the duffle bag as she quickly searched through it. Finally, she found the gun. The back window shattered as the lycan pulled it away. She screamed in rage as she fired her gun, hitting it in the chest. It gasped in surprise then fell off the car.

"Claire!" Sam screamed.

She turned just as the lights of a truck headed in their direction. Sam forced her head in between her legs again, bracing her for impact. She could feel the car spinning as he tried to avoid the truck. It still hit them, causing them to spin uncontrollably. She shut her eyes and tried to let her mind wander. She didn't want to die. She could hear Sam cursing and metal scrapping on metal. Then she blacked out.

"Wake up!" Sam yelled as he slapped Claire across the face.

Her eyes snapped open as she looked up at him in a daze. Blood trickled from his forehead and his left arm hung limp by his side. He grabbed her seatbelt and pulled it, allowing it to snap open. She rubbed her eyes as she staggered to her feet.

"We need to move!" he shouted as he grabbed her right hand with his and started to run. She slipped, but forced her feet to follow him. Despite his clear injuries, he was fast. Claire took one quick glance behind them. The truck was clearly blocking the alley that their car had gotten stuck in. Still, they ran.

Sam turned into a corner then cursed as the all too familiar howl of a lycan echoed into the streets. He spotted an open door and the two rushed inside. He took three seconds to look at all the options that he had. He chose to take the stairs. It was risky, but if they were lucky then they would be fine.

He let her hand go as they ran up the stairs. They heard the sound of something crashing through the main doors, but didn't stop.

Sam forced his broken arm back into place as they ran. He bit his lip to keep from crying out. They could hear the lycan as its nails scrapped against the stairs.

They reached the final floor and Claire pushed the door to the roof open. Sam quickly chained it shut. It was a temporary measure and the lycan would be able to break through. But it would take the lycan more than one try.

"Shit!" Claire screamed as she looked around, desperate for an escape. They heard another howl and looked to their right. Another lycan was making his way toward them, running across the roofs of the buildings.

"On my back, Claire!" Sam yelled. He howled in anger as he allowed his body to change to his lycan form. Claire didn't hesitate as she ran over and jumped onto his back. She pressed herself close to him and closed her eyes.

Sam dashed to the middle of the roof and roared at the lycan who was on the other roof. It stopped in surprise then roared back, as the one in the building broke through the door. Sam turned and ran across the roof, jumping onto the next one.

He ignored the two who followed him. Despite his injury, he was faster than them. It was dangerous for her to be on his back. One bite and she would be turned into a werewolf. He had protected her for too many years to allow that to happen. He pressed his body harder as he jumped from roof to roof. He could see the forest ahead of him. Once he made it out of town and into the woods then they would be safe.

Sam prepared himself as he made an incredibly difficult jump. He heard the shot before he felt it. The sudden pain nearly caused him to miss the building and fall. But he was able to grab it and hoist himself up onto the roof. He whimpered in pain as he collapsed onto the ground.

"Sam!" Claire screamed as she shook him.

"Go," he whispered. He was nearly human and he knew he was dying.

Tears filled her eyes as she looked at him. She shook her head.

"You must," he whispered. "Protect yourself. GO!" He could see the tips of the trees. She was close to freedom.

Claire kissed his cheek before she jumped to her feet and started to run. She opened the door the building and quickly went inside.

Sam shuddered as he dragged himself to the edge of the building. He looked down at the men who were preparing to enter. He had spent his entire life protecting her. He prayed to any Being who was in existence. She needed to be safe. After everything that he and the others had gone through, she better be safe. He let himself fall. His body would be mangled, but hopefully his sacrifice would distract the men enough to let her get away.

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><p>Claire ran down the stairs and got off on the first floor that she reached. Her goal was the reach the forest. It was difficult for her to explain her reason. She just knew that once she was in the forest then she would be alright. She allowed her body to lead her as she ran into an empty apartment and went out the window, heading down the fire escape. She reached the street and started to run again.<p>

Somewhere behind her, a window shattered. Claire turned and caught a quick glimpse of the lycan. It was on the ground and howled as it ran at her. She focused her attention in front of her then her eyes widened with surprise.

"Get down!" a woman in black leather yelled. Immediately, Claire went to her knees as she covered her head. The woman used her gun and rapidly shot at the lycan, hitting it multiple times. She roughly picked Claire up and forced her to move. "Let's go!" she shouted as the two ran to a black SUV.

The door to the backseat opened and the woman shoved Claire inside. Three more lycans appeared in the alley and rushed toward them. The woman continued to shoot as she got into the driver's passenger seat. She didn't even close the door before the car sped away.

Claire stared wide eyed as the creatures tried to follow, but they were soon nothing more than tiny dots on the horizon. She gulped as she turned her attention to the people in the car. There were three of them, two men and a woman.

One of the men sat next to her in the backseat. He smiled a kind but sad smile. "Hi," he said. His dirty long blond hair got into his eyes, and he casually moved his head so that it would return to its spot. "Good thing we found you when we did."

Claire looked at him then over to the driver. The driver didn't look back at her, but he was a younger man with short dirty blonde hair.

"Why were they after you?" the woman who saved her snapped.

Claire blinked a few times as she stared at the woman who turned and looked back at her.

"You're injured," the man stated as he reached out and touched her side.

Pain rushed through Claire's body, causing her to jump in surprise. She hadn't even realized that she was injured. She swayed and he caught her as she fell forward, unconscious.

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><p><strong>AN: Wow, thanks so much for the reviews in such a short time. Hope you continue to enjoy. Thank you so much for your reviews/favs/alerts and for just reading this story.**

**WolfieLovesSilently – I saw the movie on Saturday and looked for fics, but didn't find any. I figured since it just came out that it might take a little while. But then I thought that I might as well write one myself. Yeah, if Michael was no more I could see SeleneXDavid. But I really love that Michael is still around. Selene's gone through too much for them to be together for him to die.**

**Anna-Selene-Darkness – Thanks. ^_^**

**Devilneko247 – Yup, figured I'd do one since I didn't find any.**

**Adjwolf – Glad you liked it. Hope I continue to make it awesome.**

**IsitaGRC – I'm not going to ignore Eve. I actually like her. But I can't guarantee that I'm going to write a lot about her. I don't know how big of a role she'll have in the story, but she's not going to suddenly disappear or anything. She will interact with her parents.**


	3. Erzsebet

**A/N: Wow! Thank you so much for your response to my story. I'm overwhelmed by the reviews. It makes me happy. I'm glad that you have all been captivated and chose to take a few minutes out of your day to tell me. Hope you continue to enjoy. **If you find any errors don't hesitate to tell me. I will do my best to fix them. Again, thanks for your reviews and those who have put this story onto their alerts/favs and to everyone who continues to read this story.****

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><p><em>Erzsebet hummed softly as she prepared herself. Her husband was returning and she couldn't wait to see him. He had been away at war, as usual. All of her children were ready to receive him. She smiled to herself as she put a necklace on. It had been a present from her husband on their previous wedding anniversary. She had great news for her husband. She was pregnant. She was a bit scared, but still excited about it. <em>

_Erzsebet's eyes twinkled as she looked into her mirror. Suddenly, she paled and quickly stood up as she looked at the figure behind her. _

_"Who are you?" she yelled at the man who stood in her room. She didn't recognize him._

_"Erzsebet?" he asked her in a cool voice. He was an older man, roughly as old as her father._

_"How dare you enter my quarters without my permission!" she snapped as she stood up straighter. She would not allow this man to intimidate her. "My husband will have your head."_

_The man chuckled as he shook his head. "Your brother has become a bit unstable," the man said._

_Fear caused her to stop moving. "You," she whispered. "How did you find me?"_

_Viktor cocked his head then smiled. "Does it matter?" he asked her._

_"Don't do this!" she pleaded. Her father had done his best to protect her from the man who was before her. They had changed her last name and history so that he would never find her. But here he was, in her room. "Marcus!" she yelled, unsure if he was nearby. _

_Viktor scoffed at her before he rushed forward and bit her neck. _

_She collapsed onto the ground and held her hand to her bleeding neck. "I cannot allow this gift your brother has to be destroyed," he said. It was clear that he was intoxicated with immortality. She could already feel the cells in her body start to change. She didn't want it. She had already told Marcus that she didn't want his "gift". She adored her husband and their children. She couldn't bear the thought of outliving any of them. _

_She could feel her world darken as she collapsed onto the floor. Viktor's cool chuckled echoed into her mind._

Elizabeth's, or Erzsebet as she was once called, eyes snapped open as she quickly sat up. Past memories had come unbidden and haunted her. Viktor had been the one to turn her into a vampire. When she had awoken, she found herself very hungry and alone. The bastard didn't even bother to stay behind to teach her about her new abilities.

Elizabeth shook her head. The first years of her vampire life were filled with terrible deeds. She ended up using her husband's lands and people to her own means. She had found that she had an insatiable hunger for blood: peasants were abundant and died easily. They were rarely missed. But her deeds caught up with her. She would have died had Marcus not come and rescued her.

Apparently, her evil deeds finally reached his ears and he traveled as fast as he could to get to her. He begged for her forgiveness. He hadn't known that Viktor had changed her. But, in those early years, she didn't care if he knew or not.

The two swore they would protect their last two siblings from Viktor. But their father had done that for them. Evidently, he had found out what had happened to her. He disappeared with his last two children, hiding them and their descendants from vampires and lycans. But then again, nothing can stay hidden forever. Abel's last descendant had been found and turned into a hybrid. Her own descendants were now long dead. And her sister's?

Elizabeth couldn't help but sigh at the thought of Michael Corvin. He would die: she knew she would have to kill him. Part of her wish she wouldn't in honor of her brother. But the Corvinus line had ended with Michael when he was turned into a hybrid. His child with Selene was something else. But they would all die. When Marcus and William died Elizabeth swore to herself that everyone in the Corvinus line would die.

The new hybrids proved just how dangerous the Corvinus blood was. Elizabeth had to agree with her father. This world was not theirs. It belonged to the humans. Now that her father and brothers were dead then it was only fair for the rest of the Corvinus line to die as well. Her two younger siblings who got to live their lives in peace and die were lucky. It was just too bad that their descendants would have to die.

Luke grumbled in discomfort as he rolled onto his side. Elizabeth sat up and looked at him. She had wasted little time in starting a relationship with the soon to be lycan alpha male. Luke's father was old and sick. The old man had been by Lucian's side nearly since the beginning. He blamed himself for Lucian's death since he wasn't there to protect his friend. His regret was slowly killing him. Luke was ready to take over his father's place. They respected him almost as much as they respected his father. He was her prefect target: the person who would keep her safe while she went through with her plans.

She had played her part well in tricking the lycans into believing she was on their side. It was easy to play them. She feigned interest in helping them become more powerful. Her story, about getting the last member of the Corvinus line to harvest their blood, was mainly bullshit. She wasn't going to make a permanent means for the lycans to become stronger. That's why she had all the research in Antigen destroyed. No, it was going to be something temporary, something that would give the lycans enough power to get rid of the hybrids, but leave their bodies in the end.

A knock on the door forced her to focus on the present. Elizabeth put on her robe and opened the door.

"Yes?" she snapped.

The man in front of her looked like a little mouse and cowered in her presence. "We think we found one of the descendants," he said. "Oh?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

He eagerly nodded and smiled, revealing two large rat-like teeth. "She was with someone and we attacked her. He turned out to be a lycan."

"Where are they?" she asked as her eyes light up with excitement.

The man became nervous again as he fidgeted. "She got away. That death dealer Selene saved her," he squeaked.

Elizabeth's eyes glowed blue with anger. "What?" she snarled.

He lowered his body to the ground. "We tried to get her, but she was protected by a lycan. We shot him and would have gotten her, but then that… _vampire_ attacked us. She killed two of the four. We didn't expect to see her. I don't know…"

"Shut up!" she snarled. She hated excuses. "Her protector?"

His eyes sparkled as he nodded his head, excitedly. "He lives, but barely. We got him to our doctors and they are doing their best to keep him alive so that you can…"

"Where is he?" She snapped as she walked out of the room.

"In the infirmary," he replied. He quickly fell into step with her, leaving only a foot of distance between them. He made sure that he was in the middle of the hallway, so as not to disturb the decorations. None of the lycans were used to living in large beautiful homes. They had always lived their lives either underground and in homes that were falling apart.

But Elizabeth had them move into one of the old coven homes. It was a magnificent home and she saw no reason for it to go uninhabited. Still, the lycans were clearly uneasy with their new home. They were unused to the refinery and easily broken objects. Not that Elizabeth cared if they destroyed anything in the house. She found it comical how guilty they looked each time they broke something.

Elizabeth forced a set of double doors opened as she stormed into one of the larger rooms in the basement.

Two men looked up at her then focused back on their patient. The man on the bed was badly wounded, bones perturbing from various parts of his body. Elizabeth walked up to him then leaned in. The doctors didn't move and watched as she bit into his neck.

The man let out a small cry as he tried to get away from her. But he couldn't and she saw his memories.

His boring early life quickly flashed in her mind. She did her best to skip through his early stages of life. It was quite clear that he was human at first. Then the image of a beautiful happy woman clad in white was all he seemed to focus on. Then he was in the woods. It was raining. A lycan attacked them and he protected the woman but was severely injured. Images of him wandering the forest alone filled her mind. Then he was looking up into the sky. A face covered his vision. Alexander Corvinus stood over him. _"I can teach you to control your rage," _he said as he reached his hand out toward the man. He reached out his hand to Alexander then everything went black.

Elizabeth cursed as she pulled back.

The man on the bed chuckled. "Having trouble?" he gasped in pain.

Elizabeth snarled in anger as her eyes glowed bright blue. "What kind of trickery?" she snarled.

He coughed, trying to chuckle. "Think your father didn't come up with a way to keep secrets from being revealed?" he coughed up blood then stared up at the ceiling. "Do as you will. I will never tell you anything."

Elizabeth watched him in anger then let out a scream of frustration. "Get out!" she yelled. "I want that girl!"

The doctors quickly scurried out of the room, leaving her there with the dying lycan. She frowned. "I don't have drink your blood do know that she is important. It is quite evident since my father had you protecting her."

"It doesn't matter," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You don't have her now and you'll never have her. There are more of us and they will find her before you do. She'll…" he stopped talking and groaned in pain. "She'll disappear and you'll never find her again."

She started to walk away then stopped. A cruel idea entered her head. Slowly, she turned at looked at the lycan. "I won't let you die," she stated as she walked over to him. He seemed surprised by her statement. "No," she said, shaking her head. "I will make sure that you live… even if it's like this. Maybe I'll be lucky and whatever is keeping your memories from me will fade away. But even if it doesn't, I will get that girl. I will bring her back here and drain her in front of you! Just so that you can see how you have failed your ward."

He howled in pain as he tried to move. She laughed at his futile attempts and walked out of the room. The two doctors looked at her in surprise as she motioned for them to enter the room. "Make sure that you keep him alive. I don't care in what state. Just make sure that he can never run away."

They nodded and she left them to do their job.

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><p>Claire woke up with a start and sat up. Her surroundings were unfamiliar to her. She groaned as she sat up and covered her face with her hands. Had she gotten blindly drunk again? Slowly, she looked around again. She wasn't home and she wasn't in any room that was familiar with her. Surely Sam wouldn't have allowed her to go home with a stranger.<p>

Claire frowned as she looked at herself. She still wore her clothes, which she hoped was a good thing. There was no one else in the room. She touched her left side and winced in pain. Then the memories flooded her mind. Lycans attacking her and Sam: him getting shot in the chest.

_Sam!_ Claire thought as she stood up. Her quick movements caused pain and light-headedness. He had been shot and he was turning back into a human, which meant that he was dying. She covered her mouth to keep from crying out. Tears ran down her cheek and she slowly sat down, shaking her head. He had been her protector for years. It was difficult for her to imagine that he was gone.

Claire took in a deep breath and looked at her surroundings again. Yes, she had never been in this place before. She lifted up her shirt to inspect her wound. It was neatly bandaged. She wasn't a prisoner, at least, she wasn't tied up and they had bandaged her. That meant that they wanted her alive. And there were no bite marks, so she hadn't been turned.

Claire thought back to her rescuers. The female was a vampire for sure. She couldn't be sure about the other two, but she could hazard a guess that they were vampires as well. Vampires and lycans didn't usually work together. And besides, the woman had rescued Claire by killing at least two lycans.

Claire looked around the room that she was in. The little crevice in the corner of the room with stalagmite and stalactite told her she was underground. It didn't surprise her much. It was hard for vampires and lycans to live in the modern world now. Still, there was a bit of finery about the room.

Claire shivered from the cold and walked to the door. Cautiously, she opened it and peaked out. She didn't spot anyone and carefully stepped outside. She took off her shoes and socks. The floor was cold on her feet, but she knew she would be quieter without her shoes. She quietly closed the door behind her and walked. She didn't know where she was going, but she had to leave. She couldn't trust these people, even if they saved her.

Claire took quiet steps and plastered herself against the wall. She found it odd that there was no one about. Had she dreamed everything up? Did she have one of her blackouts again?

Faint voices told her that she hadn't dreamed it up. The hallway that she was in led to an even bigger one: to the left was a set of stairs that went up and to the right was a large circular room. Claire leaned against the wall and peaked into the larger room. She counted five people who were visible: the three from the SUV, an older man and an older woman. They huddled around a table, looking down at the contents.

None of them seemed to notice her. Claire didn't hesitate as she made her way to the steps. She didn't turn back to see if anyone was following her. The stairs curved up till it reached a dead end. She felt the wall for a switch or button. She knew there had to be one. She felt a particularly loose rock and pushed with all of her might. It didn't budge.

"Let me help," a man said as he pushed the stone with one hand.

Claire looked at him in surprise. She hadn't heard him sneak up.

He smiled as he motioned for her to continue. "But," he said with raised eyebrows. "Maybe you shouldn't leave just yet."

Claire took in deep breaths as she looked at him. What was he up to? He reached out to grab her. Old lessons took control of her body as she twisted his hand up and used her other hand to push him back. He wasn't prepared for her attack and found himself falling down the stairs.

Claire didn't hesitate for another second as she ran up the remaining set of stairs. The passage opened up to the underground labyrinth of some facility. She wasn't sure where she was and she ran. There was another set of stairs and she quickly went up them. She could see a door and pushed it open.

It was still dark out, but dawn was clearly coming. Claire focused on the forest ahead of her and ran down the walkway. The only thought in her mind was to get away. She caught the glimpse of a large body of water to her right and her eyes grew large. Suddenly, her body stopped moving and she completely frozen. Her hands reached out and clasped onto the railing: knuckles turning white as her grip tightened. Ever so slowly, she slid her legs out so that her body took up as much of the walkway as possible. She leaned to her left, despite her injury. Still, she made sure that her right hand was clasped firmly onto the railing.

"I hope you do realize that we are vampires," a man said smoothly from behind her. "You can't exactly out run us. And you seem to have no shoes."

Claire's heart raced as she stared ahead of her. "Yes," she squeaked. Why hadn't she looked where she was running before she found herself by the large dark body of water? Her mouth was dry, but she still tried to find some saliva to swallow.

"What's wrong?" he asked in concern. She could feel him directly behind her, but she couldn't move to let him pass. He ducked under her arm and looked around. "Do you see something I don't?" he asked, preparing himself for a fight.

"No," she said, her voice was barely above a whisper.

He frowned as he turned and looked at her. He looked to either side then back at her. "You're afraid of the heights?" he asked her in disbelief. The thought of her being afraid of heights, but not afraid to attack a vampire was strange.

"No," she said, barely able to move.

"Water?" That was more absurd.

"Large, dark, murky bodies of water," she stammered, refusing to look to her right or left. "Jesus!" she gasped as the dam began to make noise. The ground under her started to vibrate as it opened to release the water behind it.

Cold hands placed themselves on her sides. "Hold on to me and I'll get you back to the other side," he whispered in her ear.

Claire found it difficult to let go, but nodded. He placed one arm under her right arm and started to force it up. Quickly, she wrapped that arm around his neck then jumped on him. She didn't care how she looked at she buried her face into his neck, so as not to see the water. Her heart pounded rapidly as her mind brought back horrible images from her past.

"You can let go now," he finally said.

Claire looked up and realized that they were inside the little building, leading to the coven. The door was closed behind them, and she let out a grateful sigh as she unwrapped her body from around him. "Thanks," she murmured, pretending to straighten her clothes. She blushed with embarrassment as she thought about her actions. "So…" She scratched her head from nervousness and chuckled. "Guess you know my kryptonite now."

"My name is David," he stated.

She gave him a smile of relief since he changed the subject. "Claire," she said as she stretched out her hand and they shook. "I have to ask. Are you going to kill me?"

He shook his head and smiled. "No," he said. "We rescued you didn't we?"

"Yeah," she responded distantly.

He motioned for her to follow and she reluctantly did.

"I'm sorry about throwing you down the stairs," she said after a brief moment of silence.

He laughed and shook his head. "I hadn't expected it, otherwise it would have never happened," he replied with a small shrug.

They were silent as they continued their walk. David could feel her unease, but he wasn't sure if he should try to comfort her or not. They weren't exactly sure what they were going to do with her. Turning her was at the top of his father's list. But they still hadn't figured out why the lycans were after her. What was even more baffling was that a lycan was protecting her. He had been on one of the roofs, when he saw her on the lycan.

"Am I a prisoner?" she finally asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Consider yourself a _guest_," an older voice stated. The older male vampire stood at the bottom of the stairs. He assessed her with his eyes.

"Claire this is my father Thomas," David said. "Father, Claire."

Claire looked nervous, unsure of what to do. So she simply nodded. "A guest," she whispered to herself.

"Now, my dear," Thomas said as he placed his arm around her shoulder and ushered her to the table in the middle of the large room. "Can you tell us why you are being watched?"

Claire stared at the pictures, on the table, in shock and horror. The surveillance photos were all of her. She picked one up that had her and Sam in it. She couldn't take it anymore as all her emotions filled her up. She choked on a sob then collapsed on the floor. She didn't care if these vampires were watching her. She clutched the photo to her chest and cried.


	4. The Reveal

The vampires were unsure of what to do with the crying woman who was on the floor. It had been a long time since any of them had to deal with human emotions. She wasn't wailing, but her body trembled and every once in a while she sniffled.

Michael reached his hand out and gently touched her shoulder. To him, humanity was still pretty fresh, but he found trying to console a weeping soul uncomfortable. She flinched ever so slightly then stood up, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"It's alright," Michael said, trying to sound comforting. He held out her tennis shoes and she gratefully put them on. "A lot has happened to you."

"I've known Sam for thirteen years," she said. "He… he looked out for me." She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand before looking at the folders on the table. "What are these?" she asked as she flipped one open.

Michael tried to stop her, but he was too late.

"Oh god!" she said in horror as she covered her mouth and looked away. She struggled with her body's natural instinct to puke. "Are you going to do that to me?" She nearly shrieked, doing her best to control her tears.

"No," David stated as he closed the folder, but she didn't look back at the table. Instead, she looked down at the floor.

"Don't be stupid," Thomas snapped. "Why would we rescue you from the lycans and do that to you?"

Claire looked at them, unsure of what they wanted of her.

"Do you know why you were attacked?" Selene asked as she moved next to the table.

Claire let out deep breaths and turned her attention back to them. "No," she said, shaking her head.

Michael grabbed Selene's hand and gently squeezed it. She looked annoyed that they weren't getting their answers. He knew, from experience, that violence was her first instinct to getting the answers that she wanted.

"The lycans were following you for a reason. It has been suggested that if they caught you, then you would have ended up like the one in that picture. All of these have ended the same way," Selene said, motioning to the folders on the table and to some that were in a box on the floor. She let Michael hold onto her other hand.

Claire frowned as she moved her attention to the surveillance photos. Slowly, she moved them around, almost organizing them in order. "Who gave you these?" she asked.

"They were sent to a detective. He gave them to us," Michael said.

Claire rubbed her middle and index finger across her bottom lip as she thought.

"Just turn her so we can see her memories," Thomas commanded in annoyance.

Claire stepped back as Michael placed himself in between them. "No!" he snarled as his eyes turned black. "We are _not_ doing that!"

Thomas hissed, forcing Selene to stand by Michael's side.

"Will we turn against each other for a mere human?" Thomas snarled in anger.

"Stop it!" David snapped. He looked at the three vampires then over to Claire who had moved further from them. He unconsciously rubbed his chest before he looked at his father. "You know that we need Selene, Michael and Eve. We can't afford to make enemies of them now. You, tell us what you know _now!_" David commanded Claire as he pointed to her.

Thomas shook his head as he looked at his son. He didn't say a word as he crossed his arms, but let out a short snort as a reply. Claire looked baffled as she opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"She doesn't know anything," a familiar voice to the vampires said. They all turned and looked at the man who timidly walked toward them.

"What are you doing here, Andreas?" Claire asked. She looked at him with worry.

"Tanis?" Selene asked in surprise.

Tanis, self-proclaimed Coven Historian, made his way over to them. He had a satchel around his shoulder that held a few books and papers in it. He gave them a tentative smile as he watched them with his yellow eyes.

"Thought you were dead, Tanis," Thomas said almost humorously.

Tanis let a nervous chuckle course out. "So did I," he said. "Luckily, for me, my housekeeper found me. My lucky day, but not hers. Now," he paused and looked at Claire.

"You sent them these photos of me," she accused before he could say another word. "Why?"

"I do believe you are paid not to ask questions," Tanis said slyly. "Will someone escort her to…"

"The person who was paying me is dead," Claire snapped, interrupting him. "I'm not going anywhere. This is the second time lycans have attacked me. And Sam gave his life so that I can live. I want to know why." She crossed her arms and glared at Tanis.

Tanis looked at her then shrugged. "Secrets get found out anyway," he said, giving Selene a quick glance. Despite the twelve years, for Selene, the revelation of what Viktor had done to her family was still fresh. She had spent nearly six centuries hunting down lycans because she thought they had killed her family, when it was, in fact, Viktor who had done it. Selene loathed secrets with a passion. Tanis knew she would not side with him on the situation.

Tanis made his way over to the table and set the books on it, opening one. "The lycans are looking for the last human born member of the Corvinus line," he said as he flipped the pages.

"Don't be ridiculous," Thomas scoffed. "Michael was the last human born of the Corvinus line."

Tanis stopped sifting through the book and looked back at the other vampire. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Thomas blinked in surprise as he looked from Tanis to Claire. "Alexander Corvinus had three sons. Everyone knows that," Thomas said. "Did you have any brothers or sisters?" he turned his attention to Michael, who shook his head.

Claire frowned in confusion. It was clear she didn't know what was going on.

Tanis sighed then flipped the book so it stood long. Everyone drew closer and looked at what he was pointing at. From the other angle the page look like bushes, but long it revealed a large tree. Words were faintly written into the leaves. At the top were the names of Alexander and Helena Corvinus. Below them were five distinctive boxes: two names were clear, one was difficult to make out, while the last two were not even legible. The names of their descendants for three of the five were also difficult to read. They were tiny and fit on each leave of the tree, traveling down.

"What is this?" Thomas snapped. Like Selene, he hated when people didn't get to the point. He hated puzzles.

"Alexander Corvinus did not only have three sons, but he had two daughters as well," Tanis said, almost excitedly. "Of course, we never took into account the," he paused and nodded to the two women in the room. "Ladies in our histories," he continued. "So it was only natural that we didn't even think if he had any daughters."

"Get to the point, Tanis," Selene hissed. Michael grabbed the book since no one was paying attention to it and slowly flipped through it.

"Are you saying that Claire is the last human of the Corvinus line?" David asked as he looked at the human woman.

Claire hugged herself in anticipation of the answer. It was clear that she was trying to comprehend what was going on around her.

Tanis shook his head. "Claire is the decoy," he said. "The real last member is out there somewhere. And we have to find them before the others do."

"What?" Claire asked in surprise. "Are you saying that Sam died protecting a nobody?"

Tanis looked at her and gave her a half smile. "It would appear that way," he said.

Her body shuddered in horror, but she didn't say a word. "Why?" she finally asked. "Why protect a decoy?"

"To throw those looking for the real last descendant of Corvinus off the trail, so to speak," Tanis replied.

"So we really don't need to keep her alive," Thomas stated.

Claire took a step back, but kept her eyes firmly on Thomas.

"We do," Tanis replied with a long sigh. "Corvinus has a few 'safe houses' that hold information that we need. There are traps for vampires and lycans alike. If we try to force our way in then the houses will be destroyed. A group of lycans learned that the hard way. She is the last person who can let us in without incident."

"And what about this family tree? Shouldn't the name be on it?" David asked.

Tanis shook his head. "It goes until the early 1900s," he said. "It included the women's names and seeing as how women took their husband's names…"

David nodded his head. "Different last names and not a derivative of Corvinus, makes it harder to keep track of them."

"And why should I help you?" Claire asked. The vampires looked at her as if she had asked a stupid question.

Thomas gave her a hungry smile. "Do you really want to play that game with vampires?"

"Because I don't want the last person to become like me," Michael said, forcing everyone to look at him. He turned his attention to Claire and showed her his black eyes. "Who knows why the lycans want him or her," he continued. "Maybe they want the last to turn them into me. Or use their blood to find a way to make themselves more powerful. Whatever it is, they don't have good intentions."

Claire cocked her head to one side as she looked at him. "And you're saying that you will protect whoever this person is? What if we end up leading them to this person?"

Tanis snorted. "They have already found one hundred and twenty-six decoys, including yourself," he said. "There can't be very many decoys left. Which means that sooner, rather than later, they'll find the real last descendant. And whatever becomes of them will be on you for not helping."

Claire let out a sigh in defeat. They could see the internal struggle that she was having. "Fine," she said with a loud sigh. "What do I have to do?"

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><p>Elizabeth rubbed her tongue against her teeth, trying to get rid of the lycan blood that she still tasted. Vampires never drank from lycans. Their blood never sat well with the vampire's system, but Elizabeth had had no choice in the matter. She needed information, and the lycan, Sam, was the only one who would have been able to give it to her.<p>

Yet, tasting him and trying to get his memories had been in vain. All she got were the early memories he had before he met her father. She didn't understand why her father protected the last descendants of the Corvinus line. They posed such a threat to mankind. Not that Elizabeth cared what happened to humans. But, just for once, she wished things were easy for her.

She opened the door to her room and walked toward her dresser.

"What happened?" Luke asked as he sat up in bed.

"Found another," Elizabeth said.

"And?" he asked excitedly.

"_Your_ lycans let her escape," she snarled in anger.

Luke growled. He hated when she got angry at him for no reason. "And what am I supposed to do about it?" he snapped.

She glared at him before turning her back to him. "She was protected by a lycan."

"You think I was protecting her?" Luke scoffed.

Elizabeth shook her head. "No," she said. "I know it wasn't you. This lycan worked for my father."

"So you think she's the one?" Luke asked, trying to still sound mad, but now he was excited. He knew that Elizabeth had been looking for this last descendant for at least two years. He and his lycans had barely started six months ago. If this girl was in fact the descendant then he was lucky.

"Why come here?" Elizabeth asked herself, frowning at the thought. She obviously didn't hear his question.

"What?" Luke asked as he stood up and walked over to her.

"Here," Elizabeth said. "To this city. That lycan knew who he was protecting. He should have known that of all the cities this is not the one to come to. I'm sure that my father would have commanded him never to come here."

Luke didn't say anything as he listened to Elizabeth. He liked that she was vocal when she was troubled.

"Unless," she paused then laughed shaking her head.

"What?" Luke asked as she started to walk out of the room. That was the only bad thing. Many times she never finished her thoughts out loud.

Elizabeth stopped, turned and looked at him. She seemed surprise that he was there. "That girl is not who we are looking for," she finally said.

"So then we don't have to go after her," Luke concluded.

Elizabeth snorted at that. "Of course we do," she exclaimed. "The girl seems to be in the company of Selene. We can't have that. And I'm sure that I assume correctly that they were here looking for information on the last descendant. We need to know what she knows. Send some of your wolves out to thoroughly go through their home, work, and whatever other building either frequented."

Luke nodded his head.

The door suddenly flew open, causing Elizabeth to hiss at the intruder. The man faltered, but then loosened when Luke stepped in front of her.

"I believe we may have found where the two were heading," he said.

"I'll go with you," Luke said as he quickly followed his man out of the room. Decoy or not, they needed this girl to make sure who she was. Luke was not about to let his men fail a second time.

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><p><strong>AN: Love the reviews and questions. If you have asked me a question and I haven't answered it's cause I'll do it in the story (or did it). I prefer to answer questions in the story than in my notes. Keep asking or questioning if you're confused, helps me figure out how to clarify aspects of the story. I know exactly what's going to happen to Claire, Elizabeth and everyone else. I'm going to answer one question just in case it wasn't clear.**

**Anna-Selene-Darkness – Yes, Claire will fall very much for David.**


	5. Lycans Attack

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, favs, and alerts. Sorry for the extremely long wait. Originally, I was going to introduced Tanis this chapter, but since I did in the last one I've had to completely rewrite this chapter. Over 30 pages later and I think I'm finally satisfied. I don't like to post chapters until I'm sure that I like them. Once again, love your reviews and sorry for the wait. **

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><p>Luke and his group of lycans ran through the woods. They had ditched their cars long ago, in favor of cutting through the woods. It just seemed easier and far more logical to Luke. He didn't want to have to backtrack in the car if they passed it. And besides, this gave them the element of surprise.<p>

No one knew what they were to expect at the safe house. Luke was sure that Selene and Michael would be there, probably with the human girl. There were rumors that there was another vampire hybrid, other than Eve. Luke hoped that if that was true then that vampire would be there too. They knew how Selene, Michael and Eve looked, but they didn't know how this other hybrid looked like. Selene and Michael had been able to escape a few traps set up for them, because of this vampire.

After Selene, Michael and Eve were reunited it was rare to see the daughter, by far the most powerful of them all, around. Luke was glad and counted himself lucky that the two were being protective parents. Still, the lycans were working on a means of killing the hybrids. According to Elizabeth, the only thing they needed was the pure blood of a member of the Corvinus line.

Thinking back on her commands, Luke couldn't help but feel confused. After all, it was Elizabeth who had them destroy all their research and the samples of the Corvinus blood. Luke wasn't sure how she did it or why they followed with her commands. She wasn't a lycan. And yet she had a commanding presence about her that made it nearly impossible for any of them to not obey her. But the instant he was away from her did his mind start to think again. He didn't like it.

That was one of the reasons why he left so quickly to join his group of lycans on capturing this human. But there was another reason as well. Upon hearing that there was another member of the Corvinus line, Luke had done some digging. He had found that there were others who, apparently, were decoys. Each of them had met a gruesome end. Away from her side, he trusted her as much as he trusted any vampire. Elizabeth was hiding something. And he didn't want this human woman, whether she was a decoy or not, to meet her end before he was sure of who she was.

The sound of a car caught his ears and Luke raised his hand up as he adjusted his eyesight. An SUV was heading in their direction.

One of his men snarled as he ripped his clothes off, allowing his body to change into his lycan form. "Stop!" Luke commanded, but the man didn't listen as he rushed at the car. "We don't even know who it is! Don't kill the human!" Luke shrieked as he tore his clothes off and followed after his man.

He distinctly heard the rest of his group changing, but didn't bother to look back. He could only hope that he was strong enough to protect the human, if in fact they were attacking her.

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><p>David looked at Claire who stared out the window. She had said very little after she agreed to help them. Then again, there wasn't much for her to say. Even if she argued with them they wouldn't listen to her. What did she know? Only a few hours earlier she found out that she was a decoy and her protector died for a nobody.<p>

Still, during their hour drive David had couldn't help but study her now and again. He was used to seeing despair and fear in humans who were put into tough situations. She had shown those feelings at first, but as soon as they started driving her facial expressions changed. There was determination. He had wanted to talk to her. Ask her what she was feeling. But then that seemed like a rather fruitless conversation. Why did he care about her feelings? He wasn't sure.

She was in a strange predicament. If the lycans got her then they would kill her for not being the one they wanted. There was no doubt in David's mind about that. But what about the vampires? Tanis said that she was needed at the safe house, but if she didn't know much, why was that? Tanis didn't even know what they were supposed to find at the safe house. He had said to get all the books and computers that they could.

And when they return to the coven, what use would Claire be then? She was a decoy, which meant that it would only make more sense in sending her out and having the lycans chase her till they catch her, allowing the vampires more time to search for the right descendant.

"How can you do this?" Claire finally asked, breaking the silence.

David had seen the strange looks that she had given them every once in a while. They were vampires driving in broad daylight. Normally, they would have been roasted by the sun, but they weren't.

"It was a gift," Selene answered absentmindedly. "Alexander Corvinus gave me his blood so that I could defeat Marcus. I revived David in appreciation for trying to protect my daughter when he didn't have to."

"Are there others like you?" Claire asked.

"We only give this gift to those who are worthy. And for now, no, there are no others like us," David said. Thomas had tried to get Selene and David to share with the others. After all, such a gift would give them an advantage over the lycans. Although his arguments were sound both Selene and David would not do it. It was a great gift, but they needed to be careful with whom they gave it too. The four, Selene, Michael, Eve and David, decided to make it a group decision. After all, in the end it would up to the four to destroy the life that they created if they had to.

Claire's window brightened as the woods disappeared and the cliff appeared. She shivered as she turned her attention to David. "Lycan!" Claire shrieked as she pushed herself back.

David looked out his window just in time to see the lycan jump out of the little woods that was left. It slammed into the SUV, nearly throwing it over. Claire shrieked in fear as Selene tried to control the skidding car.

The ear screeching sound of metal on metal reverberated through the car as it slid along the guardrail.

David withdrew his knife and slashed at the bits of the lycan that made it in through the broken glass. Another lycan jumped onto the hood of the car and punched in the windshield. Michael jumped out of the car and quickly transformed into his hybrid self as he grabbed the lycan on the car and threw it back into the side of the mountain. Selene threw the car into park and quickly joined her husband as she pulled out her guns.

"Stay in the car!" David commanded as he got out.

One lycan managed to knock the guns out of Selene's hands. Michael howled in anger as he fought two others. David moved to help Selene when another lycan grabbed him and threw him into the woods. A tree stopped David's momentum. He huffed in surprise, but quickly got to his feet. He pulled out his knife and slashed at the creature, cutting through its stomach. David didn't give the lycan another second to think as he slammed the knife up through its skull.

He quickly pulled the knife out and dashed back toward the others. He made it back just on time to see a lycan throw one of the side doors off the SUV. This creature was large, not as large as the hybrid that went after Eve only a few months prior, but larger than the other lycans.

Claire screamed as she kicked at the beast. Her door was situated right outside of the cliff, which meant that it was about fifty foot drop to the ground. The lycan roared in frustration as it grabbed at her.

David rushed at the beast and slammed his knife into its back. It swung around, punching him in the face. He skidded across the ground and looked up at the creature in a daze. He had been unprepared for the forced that the lycan used. It didn't attack him as it turned its attention back to Claire.

David jumped to his feet and hissed as he rushed at the hybrid. Instead of returning the attack, the hybrid forced its body into the SUV. Claire had already anticipated his attack and had already exited the car. David could barely see her, but it was clear that she was carefully walking along the cliff edge toward safety. David didn't wait another second as he rushed to the side of the car.

"Take my hand!" he yelled as he reached out for her. She quickly grabbed his hand and he pulled her to him, just as the hybrid pushed the entire car over the cliff. Something slammed into David, throwing him and Claire off the cliff. She screamed in fear and he yelled in pain as a lycan clawed down his back.

The three fell and landed in the fast moving water below. It was spring and the river flowed quickly from the melting ice.

David surfaced and looked around for Claire. He spotted the lycan that had attacked him. It had hit the rocky ledge instead of the water. It was alive, but severely injured. He spotted the car where the other lycan was in. It struggled to get out, but its body was stuck. It was clear that the lycan was panicking and could not remember how to switch back to his human form.

A loud gasp for air caught David's attention and he focused his sight downstream. Claire was just a ways away. Within seconds, David was by her side. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he swam them to the shore.

"Are you hurt?" he asked her. His hands suddenly started to wander her body as he looked for bite marks.

"I don't know," she choked on a sob then pushed him away. Her body shook from what appeared to be the cold and nerves.

"Let's go," he said as he forced her to stand.

"Your friends," she said in concern as they started to run away from the battle. He held onto her hand firmly as they ran through the woods.

"We will meet up," David said firmly. "For now we need to get you to safety." Personally, he didn't want to leave the battle. He knew Selene and Michael could handle themselves. He wasn't a coward, but he wasn't prepared to have Claire killed yet. She had almost died twice in the span of a few minutes. Her weakness frustrated him.

David forced himself keep his speed as human as possible, as they ran through the woods. He focused all of his attention on everything around him. He didn't hear anyone following them, but lycans were fast and good trackers.

"I… I… I have to rest," Claire huffed as she pulled back after only a few minutes of running. She let out shriek of surprise as David pulled her to him and picked her up. Suddenly, they were rushing through the forest.

After a while David realized that it wasn't his body that was shaking but hers. Like him, she was soaking wet. The only difference between the two was that he was a vampire and she was a human; she felt the cold, he didn't.

"I'm cold," she said softly.

"We're almost there," David said, trying to sound reassuring. He wasn't sure where 'there' was. He slowed down enough to look around for a place to stay.

Finally, he spotted a tiny cottage and set her on her feet. He walked to the door and knocked on it, tentatively listening to the other side. He heard the sound of someone shuffling as they went for the door.

An old woman answered and blinked in surprise at the two.

"Forgive us for the intrusion," David said in his most courteous voice and with a polite smile. "My fiancé and I were driving and our car got a flat tire. It threw us off the cliff and into the river. We're cold and need to call the authorities."

The woman glanced at Claire who shivered and smiled.

"Quickly, come in!" She beaconed as she moved away so they could enter. "Are either of you hurt?"

They shook their heads as they walked into the cottage. Claire let out a sigh of relief when the warmth hit her. The old woman scurried around, grabbing blankets and wrapping them around the two. "Sit," she said, motioning to the couch. She didn't let them say another word as she rushed into one of the adjoining rooms. Finally, she came out with a set of clothes.

"These are my daughter's clothes," she said to Claire as she handed them to her. "Put them on."

Claire smiled gratefully as she took the clothes. The old woman showed her which room to get change in and Claire graciously thanked her.

"I'm afraid I don't have clothes that will fit you, young man," the woman said as she handed him a set of clothes. "These were my husband's but he was much larger than you."

David smiled. "Thank you," he said. "But I think I'll let my clothes dry."

"You'll catch your death," the woman said, shaking her head. "You will change into this set."

"Do you have a phone?" David asked, hoping to change the conversation.

"I'm sorry, dear," the old woman said, shaking her head. "I do not. But I need to go into the village. You can come with me. I'll drop you at the tavern."

David sighed and nodded his head.

The old woman smiled, before knocking on the door to the room that Claire was in. "Do you need help?" she asked.

"I'm alright," Claire's muffled voice responded.

The old woman gave David a quick glance before heading into the kitchen. David looked at the large baggy clothes and contemplated putting them on. Just by looking at them he knew they were anything but flattering. He couldn't bring himself to put them on.

David heard the door open and looked up as Claire stepped out. Her red hair was no longer in a ponytail, but hung loosely around her face. She rubbed it with a towel. "I hope you don't mind," she shouted. "I used one of your towels to dry my hair."

The old woman walked out of the kitchen and shook her head. "It's alright, dearie," she said. She placed the tray that she held onto the coffee table. "Tea?"

"Yes, please," Claire said.

"Now why were you two driving out here?" the old woman asked as she sat down.

David opened his mouth to answer, but Claire interrupted him. "Actually, my friend Sam has a castle nearby. A couple of his buddies took him out last night. But before he left he gave us permission to spend the weekend at his castle. We were heading up there when our car got a nasty flat. Threw us over the cliff. I thank God that we survived that nasty fall. I don't think our car did." She gave David a side long glance. At some point while she was talking she had reached out and grabbed his hand.

"You poor dears," the old woman said sympathetically as she shook her head. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"If you could take us to town," David said as he stood up.

The old woman looked at him then at Claire who nodded. "Very well," she said.

Claire walked back into the bathroom then came out, tying her hair into a ponytail again.

"Are you sure you won't change?" the old woman asked David.

He shook his head. "I'm alright," he said. "I'm not that wet."

Claire snorted then bit her cheek to keep from laughing. He let out a small smile as she chuckled. Her small chuckle lifted the tension that was in the room. David hadn't even noticed, until then. His mind had been preoccupied that he hadn't felt the tension until that moment. He forced himself not to frown as he thought back. Had it been there the entire time?

"Let's go," the old woman said as she grabbed her keys and put on her jacket. David followed the two out of the house. He wasn't sure when the tension started. Maybe it was when Claire got out of the bathroom. He forced his mind to forget it. It didn't matter. What he had to do now was figure out what to do. Once they got to town would he return back to the coven with Claire? Or would they continue their journey to the safe house.


	6. Unwelcomed Surprise

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Time flies too quickly. No worries. I haven't abandoned this story and I mean to see it through. I'm hoping I can get into a better updating schedule, but have been dealing with a large load at work recently. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me and to those who have discovered this story. Once again, this chapter has been a little bit difficult as I don't want to reveal too much, but then I realized that my previous chapters have left me little room to do what has been planned from the start. But I think I figured out how I can fix that without having to edit everything (well... anything for the moment). Thanks for your reviews/favs/alerts. Always enjoy the love.**

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><p>Elizabeth stared out of the window and watched as Luke and his men left the house. The old, once vampire, coven now sheltered three different lycan clans. If she cared about him then she would have felt sorry for him. He had no idea what he was getting into.<p>

Elizabeth was sure that at least Selene would be at the safe house. Luke and his men didn't stand a chance against the hybrid. And even less of a chance if the other hybrids were with her. But that didn't bother her. Luke was beginning to ask questions and to think for himself. She couldn't have that. While he was asleep she had injected him with an experimental drug. If she was lucky, then the drug would enhance him enough to kill one of the hybrids. If not, then it would kill him. It was still in the testing part and only activated when the subject turned into a lycan. There was no way he could survive.

The sun peaked out of a cloud and soon covered Elizabeth. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as the sun fully engulfed her body. Elizabeth was a hybrid. She had been one for quite some time. It had happened just after Marcus's and William's murder by Selene and her boyfriend Michael. Elizabeth had heard rumors that her brother Marcus had become extremely powerful after drinking lycan blood. With the news of their deaths and that of her father's, she found no reason not to try it.

Drinking the blood of a lycan was the number one taboo among the vampires. Victor killed any and all who dared associate themselves with a lycan. The murder of his own daughter proved how much he despised the lycans. Elizabeth didn't want to cause her brother Marcus more misery by giving an excuse for Victor to kill her. She knew he would kill her. It was Marcus who he wouldn't kill. So she played by the rules. Now there were no rules. The coven leaders were dead.

Elizabeth shuddered at the memory of her first taste of lycan blood. The lycan blood that Elizabeth tried was the most disgusting thing she had ever done. It was slimy and smelled terrible. She nearly puked it out. The transformation was worse. Her body felt as if it were on fire, and her bones cracked as her body changed its form. Yet, now she found her new form beautiful and glorious. She was neither lycan, vampire, or human.

Elizabeth looked up into the sunshine, but didn't smile. Abruptly, she turned on her heels and walked down toward the dungeon. There were both perks and disadvantages of her being a hybrid. First, she could walk in the sun. She loved it. It had been a long time since she had been able to stand in the sun without pain. And she could fly.

Sadly, she had been unable to truly appreciate those two perks. She couldn't allow anyone to catch on that she was a hybrid. Keeping that secret was essential to her plan. She needed to catch Selene, Michael, and Eve off guard. They had to believe that they were the only ones left, the only hybrids. Then, when they were comfortable would she attack and destroy the three, forever riding the world of their bastardness.

But probably the best, and yet worst, part of being a hybrid was her smell. She, personally, couldn't smell herself, but the lycans could. And whatever they smelled, they loved it. She could easily control them just by being close to them. There had been a few who had tried to kill her, but once they were in the same room with her they stop. She loved and hated that. She was sure that she was secreting some type of pheromone that attracted them. They followed her around like lovesick puppies, which made her job easier. But at the same time more difficult when those she was close to left her side. They would begin to question her, like Luke did, and then she would have to have them killed.

Oh well, she could never mourn the loss of a lycan, besides for her brother. They were all expendable, even Luke. Yes, he was pretty to look at in his human form, but that was all there was to it. There were many more like him.

Elizabeth threw the double doors open which led to the dungeon. The dungeon had been converted into a large lab. She allowed her wings to come out of her back and flew over the ground. The ground had electric conductors connected to it. Anyone who would step on it would get a lethal volt of electricity. It kept intruders out and her scientists in.

"Lady!" One of the scientists said in surprise and reverence the instant she opened the door to the main lab room. To her left lay the still severely injured Sam. From her experience with the drug that he took it would take weeks before she could see his memories. And she would make sure that he survived that long, even if it was in severe pain. The question of why he was immune to her unlike most of the other lycans never crossed her mind.

"How goes our experiment?" she asked, ignoring Sam who opened one eye.

The two scientists shook their heads in shame. "We have yet to have successful results," the main scientist told her. "TS-56 has shown the best improvement, but we are still months away from the real thing."

Elizabeth knew neither of the scientists' names and she didn't care to know them. What they didn't know was the minute they were of no use to her she would kill them.

She focused her attention on TS-56. His body was completely lycan, but there was no fur. Instead, he had the skin of a human. His snout was much shorter than the other lycans; almost human, but not quite there. Out of the others, he was by far the closets they had gotten.

TS-56 rushed at his cage and let out a half-lycan, half-human growl. The instant he smelled her he backed down and showed his submittance. At least there was still that. All the test subjects who survived submitted to her.

"Why make this army?" Sam muttered, interrupting her thoughts.

Elizabeth casually walked over to the injured lycan and cocked her head as if he had asked a stupid question. "Why not?" she asked him.

"I've heard your…. plan," he coughed and winced in pain. "Why not just offer yourself to them and kill the hybrids? You are a vampire! Why? When you're gone do you want to leave this world too be run by… those?"

Elizabeth chuckled as she shook her head. "I'm not stupid, lycan," she suddenly snapped. "If Marcus and William, the _originals_, could not defeat the two then what chance do I have? One thing you should know about me, lycan, is that I am very patient. I think about my next move before I make it. Do you think I would make an army of lycan hybrids without thinking about the consequences?"

Sam nodded his head. Elizabeth laughed.

The phone rang, interrupting their fruitless conversation. She grabbed the phone and answered. "Hello," she said. She smiled as she nodded her head. "Anderson," she stated. "How goes…" Her smile turned to a frown then the corner of her mouth twitched as she raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" she asked him.

Elizabeth paused as she ran her fingers along the side of a desk. That single movement showed that she was nervous. Sam was surprised. "Can you take care of him?"

Whatever the answer was she smiled. "No, I'm just making sure. Are they still on their way to the safe house?"

Another pause.

"Let them be," Elizabeth said. "Keep him company. I'll be there shortly, then when I have him I want you to go to the safe house and kill the girl." Elizabeth looked over at Sam and frowned. She had expected his reaction to her command to be one of dread. But he looked almost happy. "On second thought," she said. "Capture her and bring her here." Elizabeth didn't bother saying goodbye as she hung up the phone.

Sam let out a chuckle as he shook his head. "Do you think Selene… the hybrids… they won't lose her," he coughed.

Elizabeth didn't answer as she walked away. "I will return," she told the scientists. "And I'm going to bring a hybrid who may have the answers that we need."

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><p>Luke dragged his body out of the river's current and gasped for breath as he lay on the shore. The sounds of his lycans fighting had long since ceased. He knew that they had all been killed by Selene and her group.<p>

Although the loss of his lycans should have upset him, it didn't. In fact, he was upset and angry about what had happened to him. The instant he had spotted the human female his body went crazy. He wanted to rip her apart. There was no reasoning with the wolf inside of him. He had never felt so out of control in his life. Yet, somehow, he had been unable to harm her.

Thinking back on the events, he realized that he was taller, stronger, and faster than his brethren. He now knew he was a hybrid. But how did it happen? He couldn't recall getting any injections. And Elizabeth had destroyed all of their research.

"Looks like you're one of us," a man with a southern drawl stated, causing Luke to jump up, preparing for an attack.

The man was about his father's age, but far more fit than his father. He looked to be American, with light blonde hair and blue eyes. He smiled slyly at Luke before throwing him some clothes.

"What do you mean?" Luke snapped, recognizing Detective Anderson. "What do you know?" he snarled as he rushed at the older lycan, ignoring the clothes.

Anderson easily dodged his attack and chuckled as he shook his head. "This was all a test," Anderson said. "Wanted to see if you could turn. And lucky you did. Could have been worse for you."

Luke whirled around and growled. "How can I possibly be a hybrid?" he hissed.

Anderson ignored his question as he took in a deep breath. "Them hybrid vampires are a nuisance, but no worries. They won't kill the girl. Come." He beaconed for Luke to follow. The young man cautiously put on the pants, but refused to look away from Anderson. He hated being in the dark, and Anderson wasn't helping matters.

"How am I a hybrid and why in the world will we let them keep the girl?" Luke said with venom in his voice.

Anderson didn't answer as he walked out of the woods. Luke spotted a limo heading their way, and immediately tensed. He wanted to run away, but at the same time Anderson didn't seem alarmed.

When the limo stopped Anderson opened the door and motioned for Luke to enter. The young man looked at the other lycan before he got inside.

"Congratulations," Elizabeth's melodious voice said as she offered him a glass of champagne.

For a brief moment, Luke's heart dropped and fear coursed through his body. Then he grew angry. There was something off about her. Her scent! It stank, and yet smelled wonderful. He smelled two things. The Corvinus line and an alpha female. It was the female part that he was enjoying, while the bit of Corvinus that ran through her veins infuriated him.

Her blue eyes seemed brighter than usual. Her red hair was tied up into a tight ponytail. Despite that, her hair seemed far more vivid than he had remembered it. Luke blinked a few times. No, everything around him was more vivid.

"No need to worry, my love," Elizabeth said coldly as she touched his knee.

Luke grabbed her and snarled in anger. He was both repulsed by her touch and yearning for it.

"How did this happen to me?" he demanded.

Her eyes grew wide with surprise as she tried to push him away from her. He was too strong.

"Let me go!" she commanded.

Luke hesitated before he let her go. Luke leaned back then smiled. "You will tell me everything!" he stated.

Elizabeth absentmindedly rubbed her arms where he had grabbed her. For a brief moment there was uncertainty in her eyes. Then she smiled. "Of course, my love," she said. "You have passed my test. Welcome to the new and improved family."

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><p>"Once again, thank you for your help," David said to the old woman who smiled as she waved at them.<p>

She had dropped them off in front of the town pub. There were two police cars in front of it. He figured that the old woman assumed that they would go in and ask the officers for help.

"I will return these clothes to you," Claire said to the woman as she waved.

"Do not worry, my dear," the old woman replied before she drove off.

David sighed as he thought. He still wasn't sure what he wanted to do. Maybe it was best to leave Claire back at the coven and then make his way to the safe house. There was no doubt in his mind that Michael and Selene were there. But then Tanis has said that she needed to be with them.

"Claire," David said as he turned to address the human. She was no where in sight. "Claire?" he called out as he started to head toward the door. He felt like an idiot. Of course she would go to the police the second she could. Why had he relaxed around her?

"Get in," Claire called out to him just as he reached out to open the door to the pub.

David turned and stared in surprise at her. She was in a car. "Hurry up," she hissed. "Do you want them to come out and arrest us?"

David quickly got in and barely shut the door before she hit the gas. "Where are we going?" he asked her.

"To the safe house," she replied.

"Why?" he asked. "You could have left and…"

"Gone where?" she asked him. "The way I see it is that you guys don't want me dead. They do. Scale tips in your favor for now. Besides, I want to know more about this operation. I want to know why they chose to use decoys. There has to be more to the story than what we're getting."

David didn't reply. Those questions had entered his mind at one point. Selene had told him about Alexander, the progenitor and father to William and Marcus, the originals. Although Alexander had refused to harm his sons, he had covered up the battles that the lycans and vampires waged. When he died there was no one to take over for him. It was one of the main reasons that the vampires and lycans were discovered, causing The Purge. There was no one around to clean up the mess.

David wasn't sure why he found it appalling that Alexander Corvinus would find decoys for his descendants. After all, the old ancestor had proven that human casualties were not his concern. But maybe he had hoped that the ancestor was more benevolent than what he had seemed.

David looked at Claire. Barely twenty-four hours in and she had already adjusted to her new situation. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. He couldn't help but feel slightly suspicious.

"Why did you save me?" she asked.

"You're important," he said as he kept his eyes on the road, and the surrounding woods.

"I'm a decoy," she stated.

David gave her a quick glance. "The lycans don't know that," he said.

"So am I just a means to an end for you, too?" she asked.

He didn't answer. He didn't know what to say. After everything he had been through he had never come across a situation like the one he was in. But what did she expect? They barely knew each other. For Alexander Corvinus she was just a decoy. Why should she be anything else for him?

Claire laughed, surprising him. "I'm just teasing, vampire," she said.

Suddenly, he grew angry. "Vampire?" he couldn't help but snarl. "I have a name!"

Claire didn't say anything else as she focused on driving.

"Thank you," she finally said, interrupting the brief silence.

"For what?" David asked.

"For rescuing me," she said as she gave him a quick glance. "You didn't have too. You could have let them kill or turn me. Given you and the others time to get to the safe house and get what you needed."

"You make it sound so simple," David replied.

"Isn't it?" she asked.

David shook his head. "Nothing is ever so simple. What if we had gotten there and we found out that it is you who we should have been protecting the whole time."

Claire snorted, surprising David. "Yeah, sure," she scoffed.

They were quiet for a while as she drove. Claire suddenly turned into a hidden driveway and expertly navigated through the trees. The dirt road was barely visible and wide enough for the car that they were in.

They cleared the forest and a large unkempt castle stood in front of them. Claire stopped the car near the entrance and got out.

David frowned. She hadn't asked him for directions. He knew that she didn't see the map that Tanis had made. She shouldn't have known where to go. What else did she know that she wasn't letting on? He pushed that question to the back of his mind. He had other questions for her, but now wasn't the time.

Claire reached out and pushed down the handles to the door. "It's unlocked," she said as she pushed, the door didn't budge. "Dammit!" She threw her body against it then let out a scream as the door swung open. David grabbed her and pulled her back before she fell.

"Thank you," she said as she turned and looked at him, then she blushed. Quickly she pushed him away. "You keep saving me, when you don't have too."

David didn't respond. He wasn't even sure why he was doing it. The instant she seemed to be in danger he found himself reaching out and saving her again. He would have to tone that down.

The two stepped into the castle. Cobwebs, dust, and broken furniture greeted them. The castle felt empty. David knew that no one had been there in a while. There was also no sign of Selene or Michael. Still, David was sure that the two were fine.

"Where do we start?" Claire asked.

He looked at her. "What do you know about this place?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "It's a safe house?"

He let out a sigh. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe she really didn't know anything. He looked around, unsure. He had thought that he would be able to sense the rooms that were the most occupied. But, from at least the entrance, there was no indication that anyone had been in the castle for years.

He didn't say a word as he started heading down the main hall. Claire followed close behind him. There was no reason for her to keep on following him, but he didn't want her wandering around either. He opened one of the first doors and nodded in approval. Despite the fact that the castle appeared to have not been lived in a while, there were new bars on the window. The room appeared to be an old study, with only a handful of books in the bookcases. There was nothing on top of the desk except for dust.

"Stay here!" he commanded. It was the perfect place to keep her safe. If something attacked from outside the bars would give her enough time to get out of the room.

Claire nodded her head as she approached a desk and ran her hand along it.

"Don't leave this room," David commanded. He stepped back and closed the door behind him.

Claire placed her palms on the desk and let out a sigh as she closed her eyes. "What are you going to do now?" she asked herself. She tapped her fingers and waited a few seconds before she turned and touched one of the bookcases. She reached her hand over the books in the middle shelf and moved her hand till she pricked her finger. "Shit," she hissed as she pulled her hand out and sucked on her finger.

It seemed to take ages before the bookcase began to move. It was quiet and she knew that not even David could hear it move. Behind it was a dark passageway. Claire started to make her way toward the stairs, but then stopped.

"Dammit," she muttered as she shook her head. "David!" she let out a shriek as she ran to the door and threw it open. "I found something."


	7. Secret Room

**A/N: I'm so sorry I haven't updated. The past month and a half have been crazy busy with family gettogethers/weddings/camping and stuff. Plus, I wasn't exactly happy with the last half of the chapter until now. I think I'm happy with it. I realized that I'm a few chapters in and it's only been roughly a day for everyone. So much has happened to them. OH well. Anyway, love your reviews/alerts/favs. Don't worry. I will see this story through to the end. It just might take me a little while to update from time to time. Starting August I believe I'm going to be less busy and so I should have more time to update and hopefully update once a week.**

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><p>"I found something," Claire shouted as she moved away from the door and turned to look at the passageway.<p>

Within seconds David was in front of the door. He rushed into the room and stared at the secret passage way.

"How did you figure it out?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "In all the old movies, they always have secret passage ways in the studies."

David nodded as he started to head down the stairs.

"Wait for me!" Claire called out as she rushed over to him.

The passage was dark as there were no lights, but that didn't bother David. He pretended not to act surprised as Claire wrapped her hand around his and pressed her body closer to his. He liked that feeling. At the bottom of the stairs was a large steel door. To his surprise, it was unlocked.

Gently, he pushed it opened unsure of what was on the other end. He found the light switched and flipped it on. Unlike the other rooms in the castle, this one looked as if it had been used recently. New computers sat on a desk and on the wall were TV screens. Someone had been there the day before.

David turned on the computers while Claire turned on the TVs. The images on the TVs were all surveillance. Most were of the rooms in the safe house.

Claire moved away from him then gasped in surprise. David turned and looked at the wall. The entire wall was filled with pictures of all the decoys. Each of the pictures had marks over the faces, indicating that they were all dead. Claire's was in the middle. Hers was circled with a red marker.

He started to get up to get a closer look when he heard the computer beep. He turned his attention back to the computer and sighed. Naturally, it needed a password. "Know how to get in?" he asked.

"Try Macaro," she said, not looking at him.

"No," David replied as he shook his head.

"Marcus?"

He shook his head. "And neither Corvinus or William."

She hummed as she pulled out some papers. "Try, A-H-M-W-E-K-A-4-7-1-C," she said.

David found himself typing in the random sequence that she spouted and frowned as the computer booted up. "It worked," he said.

"No shit!" She sounded genuinely surprised. "I was just making shit up." She looked at him and let out a small smile. He looked her up and down, assessing her. He wasn't sure if he believed her. As he turned his attention back to the computer he noticed her hand move ever so slightly. She had something in it. It looked like a piece of paper.

_ "Sorry, Sam." _ Claire's voice came out of the speakers. She blinked in surprise and walked over to him to see what was going on. It was a recording of what had happened the day before.

"_Whatever,"_ _Sam said as he waved his hand behind him. Claire didn't seem to notice his gesture as she looked out the window._

David looked at her. She looked infuriated. She placed on hand on the back of David's chair as she leaned in closer. He got a whiff of her perfume. When she had found it or put it on he wasn't sure. But she smelled lovely.

"You have got to be kidding me," Claire murmured to herself as her muscles tensed in anger. Someone had planted a camera in her car and had been recording her. While she seemed not to have noticed, Sam had. He looked in his rearview mirror every so often and his eyes connected with the camera.

"I'm sorry, Claire," an old woman's voice said, causing both to turn around. Neither had noticed the old woman who stood behind them. She held two guns in her hands and had them directed at Claire. It was the old woman who had helped them out barely an hour earlier.

"You were the one who bugged our car?" Claire hissed in anger. She switched her stance so she could charge at the old woman. "Sam's dead because of you, Annie! What were you thinking?"

"Don't even think about it vampire!" Annie snarled, noticing David's small movement. "The bullets in here are designed to kill you."

"I highly doubt that," David stated nonchalantly. He wasn't worried about himself. He could withstand the bullets. He was worried about Claire. There was a chance that the old woman would get lucky and he couldn't take that chance yet.

"You won't be able to stop all of them and one will hit its mark and kill her!" Annie said, trying to sound brave, but her voice quivered ever so slightly.

"Why, Annie?" Claire sounded disappointed. She clearly wasn't worried about dying.

"Why? Mr. Macaro should have cleaned up this whole mess before he died! He left us with nothing and no one to protect us. She has promised to end it all." Annie sounded angry and yet triumphant.

Claire's eyes narrowed. "Who?"

Annie opened her mouth to answer but then cried out in pain as a hand protruded from her chest. She dropped her weapons and stared wide-eyed at Claire.

The creature that held her was part lycan part human, clearly in the middle of transforming. He gave them both a wolfish grin as he dropped the body. "She talks too much," he commented. "Give me the human and I will let you go for now." He watched David and clearly dismissed Claire from his sight.

David placed himself in front of Claire. "Try and take her," he snarled.

The lycan howled as he rushed at them. David slammed his hand into the beast's chest. It punched him in the face, throwing his body across the room. This one was stronger than the others, and stronger than the one he had fought earlier. It rushed at Claire.

"Claire!" David shouted as he tried to stop the beast. The two wrestled briefly, as David tried to avoid the creature's jaws.

The wolf threw him back and howled as it rushed at Claire. At some point she had found a sword. She held it in both hands and shifted uneasily. He was sure she didn't know how to use it. She moved at the last second, slicing the creature as she dodged his attack. It howled in pain as it doubled over. She had tricked both of them.

She dropped the sword and ran the way the old woman and the lycan had come. "David!" She yelled. She closed the door as soon as he was in the passageway.

The lycan howled as he slammed his body against the door. It wasn't going to hold for long. She grabbed David's hand and pulled him down the passage. Her lips moved and he could hear her mumble numbers under her breath. The lycan's howl echoed through the passageway. Claire threw herself into a wall and it crumbled, revealing a tiny opening.

The new passage was small and David could barely push his way through. It would be extremely difficult for the lycan to get through. The smell of blood caught his nose. It was Claire's. She must have scrapped some part of her body against the rough stone.

"We have to hurry," Claire said, more to herself then to him.

Finally, he spotted a room and couldn't help but feel relief. The two squeezed out of the passageway and Claire looked around. It was a dead end. There was clearly no entrance.

"No," she whispered as she ran her hand along the wall. She must have been there before. She acted as if there was supposed to be an opening.

David opened his mouth to say something when he heard a 'boom'. The walls around them started to shake, but she ignored the danger as she slammed her body against the rocks. David grabbed her and threw her to the ground as he protected her body with his. He looked up just in time to see their passageway get covered by rocks. He had a feeling that the castle blew up.

The ground under them moved and suddenly they were falling. Claire let out a scream as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into his chest. David quickly picked her up and landed on his feet. He heard a rustling and looked up. He jumped back as the ceiling above them caved in. He spotted an adjoining room and ran into it just as the room filled with rocks.

"Thank you," Claire whispered.

He gently set her down and looked around. There was only one way to go, and that way led to water. He could hear it. "This way," he told her as he started to move.

She grabbed onto his arm and let him lead her out. The passageway was short leading to a large cavern that was filled with water. At the back he spotted the current. The force was strong and he was sure that it was large enough for them to swim through.

"No," Claire said in a panic as she pulled away from him. "Find another way!"

David turned and looked at her. Her eyes were wide like saucers as she took a few steps back, shaking her head. Her eyes must have adjusted to the little light, showing her what she was going to get into.

"It's just water," he told her.

"There has to be another place for us to get out," she said, ignoring what he said.

"There isn't, now come," he kept his voice firm as he reached for her. She pulled away and started heading back. David grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him.

She gave him that same look that she had given him when she was running over the dam. She was utterly petrified of entering the water.

"Please," her voice was barely above a whisper. "We can find another way."

"There isn't one," he told her, lowering his voice. What was with this woman and water? There was no time to confront her about her fear. He had to see if his intuition about the castle being gone was true.

"David, no!" Claire shrieked as she started to struggle. He could feel her heart start to beat faster, but he didn't care as he picked her up. She buried her head into his neck and wrapped her arms around him.

The water was cold, but it didn't bother him. She pressed herself closer to him as her body hit the water. He could see the swift current and knew that it was large enough for them to swim through. "I need you to stand," he whispered as he let her legs go. She still kept her arms around his neck as she tentatively touched the ground. "Take a breath."

He heard her gulp in some air, but she didn't open her eyes. He pulled her down with him and entered the underwater tunnel. He could see that it was a man made tunnel. The walls were unusually smooth. Claire pressed herself closer than he thought possible. He didn't have trouble swimming, despite the lack of use for one arm.

The tunnel seemed to last forever. David frowned. Claire's grip started to loosen. How long had they been underwater? Just as he started looking for a place to surface they were dumped out into a large body of water. Claire gasped for breath as she quickly swam toward shore. He could see her body shiver more from fear than from the cold.

"Are you insane?" David snapped as she collapsed onto the shore. "Why didn't you tell me that you were drowning? I don't need to breath but you do." He knew that last statement was silly. Of course she knew her need to breath.

She didn't look at him as she spat out water. His eyes narrowed in anger. He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. Her eyes surprised him. They were strangely blank after all that had happened.

He stood up and looked around. He didn't feel or sense anyone. He wanted to go up the mountain and see if the castle was still there. He highly doubted that.

"It's not there anymore. The lycan is probably dead as well," she said, confirming his suspicions.

"And how do you know?"

"Because I had you set it off when you logged into the computer," she admitted.

He frowned. "And would you have said anything if we weren't interrupted?"

She didn't answer immediately as she thought. "I honestly don't know," she admitted.

He clenched his fists in anger and pulled her to her feet. "Are you insane? You could have killed yourself."

"Let me go!" she snarled as she pulled away. "Don't you dare pretend like you care if I live or die."

"Pretend?" he snapped as his eyes narrowed. "Then why the hell have I been saving you this entire time?" He couldn't keep the anger out of his voice. She infuriated him.

"I'm a decoy. I am meant to die eventually to save the real last descendant." Her eyes didn't leave his and neither did her expression change. They seemed to be repeating the same conversation over and over again. What was with her and her need to die?

He clenched his fists. "Are you? Are you?" he snapped. "I saw the wall. Everyone's picture that were on it were marked off minus yours."

She didn't answer as she looked at him.

"So, why are you so eager to die, if you are the last?" He looked at her quizzically. "Would that not defeat the sacrifices of the others?"

Something flashed in her eyes then she sighed. "You're right," she said simply.

He opened his mouth to argue some more then frowned as he took a step back. He hadn't expected her to agree with him. He studied her for a minute. She suddenly seemed distant as she thought.

"We should go," she finally said. "I'm getting cold and it'll be dark soon."

David looked up. The sun was going down. It was interesting how fast time seemed to go and yet he felt as if they had done so little. He looked back at her then shook his head. He wanted answers. "First, tell me. Are you really a decoy?"

It was a simple answer that only needed one word. Her eyes scanned his face and he could see that she was thinking.

"One way or the other I'm still going to protect you," he said, trying to reassure her.

"I'm not the one they are looking for," she finally said.

"Do you know who is?"

"No." Her quick answer made him frown. The rest of his questions she had taken her time. This answer was way too quick. But he didn't want to press her. It was all too clear that she would die first before giving anything of importance up.

He reached his hand out to her and helped her get to her feet. "Let's go," he whispered. The two were quiet as they walked. David wasn't sure what to say to her. His mind replayed back their conversation

"You are human and you have a life to live, yet in the short time that I have known you you have taken more risks than are necessary," he finally said. He couldn't keep it in any longer. Before he became a hybrid he had wondered what it would have been like to live a full life as a human. It angered him that she didn't seem to care about her own.

She seemed taken aback by his statement and frowned. Her eyes softened as she let out a deep breath and shook her head. "I'm not eager to die," she admitted.

"Then what is it?" he asked as he lifted her over a fallen log.

"It's…" she paused then sighed. "I made a vow. I swore to protect the Corvinus line till my dying breath. Be it from vampires, lycans, humans, or hybrids. Whatever it is I will protect what little knowledge I have and protect Alexander's family."

David was surprised by the conviction that was in her voice. "Why?"

She stopped moving and looked up at him. "Because he raised me," she said. "I owe my life to him and the best way that I can honor him is to make sure that his line continues." She didn't wait for him to say another word as she started to walk again.

He fell back into step with her. Honor. She had personally known Alexander Corvinus. He wanted to ask her about the man who ended up being the grandfather of two warring species. But she didn't trust him. She would be wary of him and not tell him the whole truth. He would have to find a way to gain her trust. Clearly, saving her life was not the way. He wasn't exactly sure how else he could gain her trust. But once he did he was sure that he would be privy to all her secrets, including whoever the last descendent of Corvinus was.

David gave her one quick glance before making up his mind. Yes, he would find a way to make her trust him. It was the only way.


	8. Storytelling

David wandered through the coven looking for Claire. She fascinated and frustrated him at the same time. It had been two weeks since her protector's, Sam's, death and the destruction of her safe house. And yet, he still knew very little about her. She hadn't tried to escape since that first day, much to his surprise. But, then again, she hadn't done much either. Her first few days consisted of sleeping, eating, and watching Tanis. Tanis wouldn't have minded much if she had contributed. He wanted to know her history. But she was tight lipped about everything.

David had to intervene when Tanis had attacked her, threatening to turn her into a vampire just to _read_ her history. Outwardly, she showed fear, but David had seen her eyes, and they mocked Tanis. After that David kept a closer eye on Claire when he was at the coven. He made sure that everyone, including his father, knew that he was protecting her. His father was not happy about his decision, but David didn't care. David had learned to trust his senses. After all, he had rescued and helped Selene, and that turned out to be for the best.

Selene, on the other hand, had become indifferent toward Claire. At first she had been furious that Claire had destroyed the castle. She chided the young woman, saying they could have handled any attack. Claire disagreed with her, earning Selene's best death stare. David and Michael had been impressed, but thought Claire foolish when she didn't look away from Selene. Eventually, they returned to the coven. Claire had been helpful in giving them the locations of three more safe houses. But when Selene, Michael and David examined them they realized that none of them would have what they were looking for. Whatever was important was destroyed.

David passed by one of the smaller libraries then stopped. Claire sat on the ground, writing furiously in her little journal. No one, not even David, had read what she was writing. He would eventually read it. He just hoped that she would get comfortable enough to write something of importance in it.

Claire looked up and smiled. "Eve, right?" she asked.

David placed himself against the door to the little library, but didn't enter.

"You are the human, Claire," Eve responded, walking out of the shadows.

Claire nodded. "And you are the hybrid born," Claire said back, a hint of teasing in her voice.

David peaked in and saw Eve carefully sit near Claire, but not that close. "Why aren't you scared?"

"Scared of what?"

"Of me? The vampires? Lycans? Anything? You're human, right?" Eve examined Claire with her eyes.

"Is that the question you wanted to ask me?" Claire asked with raised eyebrows. "Why I'm not scared? You've been trying to talk to me for two days."

Eve slowly shook her head. "No," she admitted. "Will you tell me about him? Alexander Corvinus," she quickly added.

Claire put her pen into her journal and closed it, setting it down on the ground. "What do you want to know?" she asked.

Eve gulped. "Was he a good man?"

"He used to say 'A good or evil man is relative to whoever is viewing them. In the eyes of my children's offspring, I would probably be considered a good man for giving my children life. For, without my sons, they would not exist. But in the eyes of my children, I would probably be seen as an evil man. For allowing their offspring to murder, rape, and destroy each other.'"

Eve frowned. "But he kept the fighting between the vampires and the lycans hidden from the humans."

"Allowing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of innocent people to die because he didn't step in to protect him," Claire pointed out.

"So, he was a bad man," Eve said softly.

Claire leaned back, shaking her head. "I never said that."

Eve frowned. "Then?"

"In my eyes, he was a good man. A human man. Immortal, but human. Can you imagine the inner turmoil he had to go through each time he had to clean up a fight between the lycans and the vampires? The questions he had to have asked himself, been asked by others? Why not stop the blight? He was the strongest. Storm Victor's castle and take out all the lycans and vampires at once. After all, he was alive when the vampires and lycans lived together. Not the ferals, of course, but Alexander could have hunted them down. By that time the ferals were no longer a problem."

Claire turned her body so that she faced Eve. Her voice held passion in it. "But he would have to kill his sons. Sure, he had three more children…" she paused. "Well," she said. "Not by then. By then he had descendants from his human children." Claire stopped talking as she spaced out.

"It's not that hard," Eve stated. "Better to kill the few to save the many."

"Could you so easily kill your mother or father?"

Eve didn't answer as she thought. She had gone through a lot during her years at Antigen. Despite never meeting or knowing her mother and father, she had a strong connection to the both of them, especially her mother. "I couldn't," she finally admitted, shaking her head. She had barely been reunited with them. And even if she had known them all her life, she knew she could never kill her parents.

Claire leaned forward. "That feeling that you have for your parents. Imagine that, but even stronger," she said softly. "He cared about all of his children. But… I think he cared the most about those two. They were his first children from his beloved wife. Twins were rare during that time and it was even rarer for a woman to survive child birthing. For her to give him five, healthy, children and for them to survive to adulthood was a feat unto itself."

Eve frowned and cocked her head. "How do you know so much?"

Claire sighed as she leaned back against the foot of a table. "I talked a lot with him. The others, his men, respected him deeply, but they all thought him too serious. No one had the 'guts' to talk to him or ask questions. But I did."

"And he told you all this?" Eve couldn't help but sound skeptical. "And why tell me this? Why tell me when you haven't talked to anyone else?"

David waited for her next words. He too was curious.

"If your father had asked, I would have told him. You are a Corvinus by blood."

"And so is my mother," Eve interjected.

Claire nodded. "Yes, but she wouldn't want to hear what I had to say. She wants to know the present, not the past. She wants to know what can help her now."

Eve didn't say anything. It was true. Selene was impatient when she didn't get the answers she wanted. She didn't care the how or why. All she wanted was the information to get what she needed done. "Where are you going?" Eve asked as Claire grabbed her journal and stood up.

"I've had enough storytelling for today," she said. "I might be able to answer more questions tomorrow. But, I think the sun is going to be going down soon and I rather like watching the sun setting." She didn't wait for Eve to argue as she walked out of the room.

David zipped himself away from the door, and casually headed her way. "There you are," he said, putting the best fake smile he could. "I've been looking for you."

"Will you take me up top to see the sunset?" she asked.

He nodded.

The two walked silently through the seemingly empty coven halls. There were other vampires around. David spotted them, but they quickly went in the opposite direction.

"Why were you looking for me?" Claire asked, breaking the silence.

"I was just making sure that none of the other vampires tried to harm you." It was partly true, but mostly false. The only person he had to worry about was his father, and the older vampire had gone to one of the few remaining covens.

She looked up at him through the corner of her eye then chuckled. "The other vampires keep away from me like I'm a plague. They have been doing that for a week now. The only vampire I need to worry about is your father and he's gone," she said. "So, why lie to me?"

His mouth dropped slightly as he tried to out think her. "You're a very secretive person. I didn't want you to stop telling Eve the stories about her ancestor, because I was listening," he said.

"I wouldn't stop even if Tanis was there. Why keep her own family history from her? She's a Corvinus."

"And yet you haven't said anything before," David quickly pointed out.

"She never asked." Claire looked at him stubbornly.

They were quiet after that, slowly making their way up to the surface. David led her up the stairs and opened a door, leading to the outside. The sunset had a pink and purple hue to it. It was beautiful. They were in a small balcony that overlooked the dam. It was made so that the workers of the area could see the dam and make sure everything was working properly.

Claire placed her elbows on the rail and leaned forward. "You don't have to worry about me running away," she said, giving him a quick glance.

"I'm not," he replied. "You haven't tried, and even if you do try I can always catch up to you."

She let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah," she said. "So, why haven't you tried to make any of the others hybrids like yourself?" She turned and leaned her back against the railing as she eyed him.

David put himself closer to her and smiled. "In a way, it's not my gift to give," he said. "Alexander Corvinus gave it to Selene and she in turn saved me after I had tried to save Eve. If not for her, I would not be here."

"That would have been a shame," Claire said softly. He looked at her in surprise, but she didn't return his gaze. Instead, she focused back on the setting sun. "If I was dying, would you turn me into one of you?"

"No."

She cocked her head as she looked at him curiously. "Why not?"

"Why would I?" he countered. "You clearly have shown that you don't want to be a vampire, hybrid or not. Why make you into a creature you don't want to be? Why give you the abilities to make it easier for you to defy us?"

Claire laughed, shaking her head. "True."

They were silent as she watched the sun. He was a little off-put by her stance. He was used to seeing her so tense, but right now she was relaxed. Her hair was up in a bun, except for a single stubborn strand that clung to the side of her face. He felt like brushing it behind her ear, but forced himself not to. Feelings? He couldn't have feelings for her.

She grew serious and clenched her fists. "The hybrids," she said. "The lycan ones. Have you ever met any like them?"

He shook his head. "Similar, but not complete. Antigen had started working on a 'cure', trying to use Eve's DNA as the basis. There were only two that had the complete serum put into their systems. Eve and Selene killed both of them. We were unable to destroy the research that night, but we found out that all of it was destroyed."

She looked at him in surprise. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "A very reliable source told us. She's an older vampire. Now one of the oldest, in fact."

Claire tensed. "Where is she now?"

David shrugged. "America, I think," he said. "It's where she has been for the last two hundred years. It was the second time she had come back in the last two hundred years. She brought a small team of vampires with her and said that they destroyed everything we couldn't." He shook his head and placed his hands on the rail. "She hates it here though. I guess she just wanted to assure us that she helped us get rid of our threat. It was not a surprise to us that she went back home."

Claire let out a sigh of relief, making him frown.

"Have you met her?" he asked.

She turned away, but shook her head. "No, I have heard about her. Before I went underground, I heard that she tried to rally all the vampires. She tried to establish that vampires were a better race."

David nodded his head, remembering what the vampires called 'Tears of Ashes'. It was supposed to be the day they proved to the humans that they were stronger and better. But the humans had been prepared. They blasted the vampires with UV lights almost immediately, painfully paralyzing the majority of the group. Few escaped. There would have been more vampires alive, had she not convinced them to join her in what ultimately became their last stand.

He clenched his fists at the memory.

"What?" Claire asked.

David chuckled, shaking his head. "Her name is Elizabeth. She came to our coven. I must admit, she knew how to inspire us. She claimed to be the eldest and everyone knew she was sired by Victor himself. I would have gone with her if not for my father. He commanded me to stay behind, and at that time I did not want to disobey him."

The two were silent as the sun finally set. David frowned as a car approached the dam.

"What is he doing here?" he muttered to himself, recognizing Detective Sebastian.

"Who?" Claire asked, but David jumped down to the ground, meeting Sebastian by his car.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

The human man jumped in surprise then sighed in relief. "I have something I'm sure you'll be interested in."

"Inside," David said as he escorted the man.

Sebastian followed him into the coven and stayed in the room that David left him in. "Claire, right?" he asked, spotting the woman who walked in.

"Yes," she said.

"I'm Detective Sebastian," he said as he walked over to her, holding out his hand. "I was the one who got the photos and brought them to Selene's attention."

She shook his hand. "Thanks," she said.

He frowned. She didn't sound happy. "Are you alright?" he asked.

A large smile crossed her face as she chuckled. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking. Thank you for doing that. I don't know how I would have survived if Selene hadn't rescued me."

He smiled back at her before turning his attention behind her. "Selene," he said. "Good."

"What have you found?" Selene asked as Claire moved away.

He held up a hard drive. "We need a computer."

Finding the coven's single resident techy vampire, Patrick, was easy for the group. The vampire rarely ever exited his room, except to grab more blood to feed. Before Selene, Patrick was the only real link to the outside world. The vampires rarely left their coven during the few years after the purge. All the news they received were what he had mined from the internet.

"Let's see here," Patrick said eagerly as he rubbed his hands and started to type. "It's encrypted, but that's not really a problem. Just have too…"

"_Umm… you are so sexy, Patrick," _a female voice complemented from the computer.

"That's Ana. Thanks, babe," he said proudly.

"Get to it," Selene snapped.

He quickly clicked and typed, not looking at the group who huddled behind him. "Looks like it's just a bunch of folders. Most are pictures, there are some videos. Didn't this guy know how to organize stuff?" He shook his head.

"Which is the newest one?" Selene asked.

Patrick organized the folders then clicked on the newest addition that had been added. "Looks like it's this one. Hmm… It's never been viewed," he said with a frown.

"Show us," she commanded. She didn't have to as Patrick was already clicking on the video as she spoke.

There was no date on the recording, making it all the more odd. A scientist appeared in front of the camera and stared at it wide eyed. "_Anderson,"_ he whispered in fear. "_I don't know where you are and no one has told me anything. I hope you receive this. We may be in trouble. The experiment has gotten out of hand. She's in denial. She still thinks she's in control, but she isn't. This happened last night."_ The man shook his head. "_I have voiced my fears to her, but she doesn't listen to me. She'll listen to you. Although I haven't heard from you in… a while… I'm sure you're still around. We need to get the situation back under control. I didn't sign up to make lycans the superior species. This wasn't a part of our mission."_

The man pressed a button and the imaged was replaced with another recording. The camera itself was directed toward a hospital bed. On the bed was Sam. Claire gasped in surprise. A man who appeared to be in his late twenties walked over to the lycan who was still alive. He grabbed Sam's arm and Sam screamed in pain.

"_You should make things easier for yourself,_" the man said. "_Tell me what I want to know. Then you won't have to continue living this miserable life."_

Sam chuckled then spit at the man's. The man shook his head as he wiped his face with his hands.

"_She told me not to do anything to you. But I think this will be a faster way to get you to talk_," the man said and snapped his fingers.

A scientist appeared, and cowered before the man. "_But she said not to…"_

The man spun around and half turned into a lycan. "_I don't give a damn what she said. I am the Alpha here. You obey me now!"_

The scientist looked surprised, but took a syringe from atop of a desk. His hands shook as he headed toward Sam.

Sam cried out in pain as he tried to struggle. It was clear that his body was healing very slowly and was almost completely broken. "_You don't want to do this. Trust me! I will tear you apart."_

The man snorted at that. "_Highly unlikely," _he said as he motioned toward his left. "_All of those obey me like they do her. You will obey me too. And if you don't… well… I'll kill you."_

The scientist grabbed Sam's arm and injected the contents into it. Sam gasped and screamed in pain. His body arched into the air then he collapsed, unconscious.

"_How long will it take?"_ the man asked, rather impatiently.

"_He was seriously wounded,"_ the scientist said. "_If he lives it may take hours if not days for…"_

The man waved his hand in the air as he started walking away. "_Call me when he's awake."_

"_And what about my lady?"_ the scientist called out.

The man laughed, but didn't answer as the video stopped playing.

"Your protector is still alive," Selene said as she turned to look at Claire. Her eyes narrowed with anger. "Where is she?" she asked.

David looked around the room. He knew that Claire was beside him when they entered the room. When had she left?

Sebastian frowned as he patted his pockets.

"What's wrong?" Selene asked.

"Where are my keys?" he asked as he dug his hands into his pockets.

"Claire," David whispered. He ran out of the coven and to the location of Sebastian's car. He stopped just short and almost let out a cry of distress. She had lied. She had been given the chance to escape, and despite her earlier comment, she had taken it.


	9. Goodbyes

Claire's knuckles were white as she clenched the steering wheel. The irony of her statement barely an hour before to David did not escape her. No, she had meant the words that she had said. She hadn't planned on running away. After all, with her in the care of the vampires it meant that the lycans would work harder to get to her. She assumed that they would figure she was the one. The vampires _were_ protecting her.

But…

Claire took in a deep breath, refusing to let the tears fall down her cheek. She had seen Sam. He was still alive. That was a bad thing. At least, when she had thought he was dead, she didn't have to worry about him being turned. About them finding out what he knew. But he was alive. And what was worse, she wasn't sure when the video was made. It was made within the last two weeks, which meant that the lycans were probably a little ahead of her. But he was strong, and stubborn.

"Don't kid yourself, Claire," she whispered to herself. "Think the worst. They got to him. But there's still time. Enough time to warn them." She glanced up into the rearview mirror. She half expected the car to get attacked by a vampire. David was going to be furious with her. If they chased after her then she estimated that she had a good fifteen to thirty minutes head start. But then once she entered the city they really wouldn't know where she was going.

Claire smacked her head with her right hand. She should have used them. She should have made up some lie to get them to go to the university library; used them in case lycans were already there. Not that she was afraid of the beasts. But it would have made things so much easier. "Always haring off without thinking first," she whispered again, shaking her head.

She glanced down at the clock on the radio. It was late. The library would be closed, but that didn't matter. In fact, it was better that way. It meant less casualties if she was attacked.

Finally, the city appeared before her. She could tell that the streets were becoming less busy as most of the residents of the city made their way home. A few made their way to their various night activities. They had faith in their government, faith that the creatures of the night were being dealt with.

Finally, Claire saw the top of the university's library and parked along the street. She stepped out of the car and ducked her head as she made her way to the library. There were no lights on so she didn't bother going to the entrance. Instead, she made her way toward one of the side doors. The letters on the door said 'Employee's Only'. She walked past it and went to the dumpster. Quickly, she knelt and reached under the dumpster, ripping a card out from the bottom. Still keeping her head down, she went to the door and slid the card through. The door opened for her. She went to the alarm box and quickly entered a code. It hesitated for a moment before it gave her a green light. She punched in the code again, turning on the alarm.

Carefully, she made her way up the stairs. There was a reason why she came to the library and knew it so well. Abandoned houses were always one of the first and easiest places for people to spot. Especially, if someone was using it often and it was supposed to be abandoned. However, a library was generally a public domain. Many people were allowed in, but not everyone cared for books. She knew there were corners of many libraries that were not only rarely used, but hardly thought of.

She reached the third floor and walked inside. She went down a few aisles until she found the area she wanted. Reaching up, she grabbed one old book. It had been checked out only once during its entire time at the library. She grabbed the middle of the book and opened it, revealing a cellphone. She had cut out the middle so the phone could hide in there comfortably. She placed the book back on the shelf and headed in another direction. Crouching at another shelf, she pulled out a smaller book and took out a battery. Putting it back, she went to another bookshelf and pulled out one of the top books. Inside was the charger.

_Never keep all your secrets in one place,_ her father had told her once.

"And last," she whispered. She grabbed one of the books next to the one that had the charger and ran her finger along its spine. Carefully, she dug her fingernails onto the side and ripped it open, revealing a SIM card.

She put the phone together as she made her way to the far corner of the large room. Placing the charger into the wall, she connected it with her cellphone and waited the agonizing minute that it took to turn on.

She sat with her back pressed against the wall, and her knees close to her chest. Her hands shook as she slowly pressed the phone number that she knew by heart. She placed the phone up to her ear and waited.

The ringing didn't seem to stop, making her heart pound wildly in her chest. Thousands of questions ran through her mind.

"_Hello?"_ a woman's tired voice finally answered.

"Thank God," Claire replied. Her voice cracked and she placed her head on her knees.

"_Claire?" _the woman on the other side asked in surprise and fear.

"You have to go. Don't pack, just go. Get rid of the phone, and go to one of the places that Alexander showed you. And whatever you do, don't trust Sam."

There was silence on the other end.

"Do you understand me, Andrea?!" Claire demanded.

"_I understand,"_ the woman said.

Claire smiled, but the tears ran down her cheeks.

"_We're not going to see you again, will we?"_

"I don't know," Claire whispered. "I don't know where you will be going. Which is a good thing. If everything turns out okay, I will reach out to you. But…" she paused. "Sam was captured. Someone is making new hybrids. Lycan ones. He's going to come for me." She paused. She could hear sniffles from the other side. "I'll be alright, Andrea."

The woman on the other side snorted. "_Yeah?"_ she asked, clearly not convinced.

Claire forced herself to smile and sound cheerful. "Sure. Selene's back and Michael. Did you know the two have a daughter now? Her name is Eve. You should add her to the tree. She's sweet, very curious, and so powerful."

"_Does she know? Selene?"_ Andrea asked.

Claire shook her head even though she knew Andrea couldn't see her. "No. Andrea? Why haven't you left yet?"

Andrea snorted in the background. "_I'm in the car right now_," she said.

Claire panicked. "And…"

"_He's at a friend's. They won a soccer game today. So I let him stay at his best friend's tonight_. _He's going to be so angry at me."_

Claire shook her head. "He'll understand. This is his life. Until I can fix things."

_"This is your goodbye," _Andrea said softly.

"You're both safe and that's all that matters," Claire said, avoiding Andrea's statement. "Give him a kiss for me, will ya?"

Andrea snorted. "_Yeah, I'll try. You know he's a teen now. Won't even let me, his own mother, kiss him_."

Claire let out a chuckle. "I better go. Can't let David or anyone else find me like this."

"_Who's David?"_ Andrea didn't waste a second asking the question.

"Throw the phone away now, Andrea," Claire said. "Goodbye. I love you both." She didn't wait for Andrea to reply as she ended the call. She rubbed her eyes before she took the phone apart and destroyed the SIM card.

Her hands shook ever so slightly. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a door closing. Crawling on her hands and knees, she moved, glancing up every now and again. She spotted the light from the flashlight and quickly froze.

"_First floor is clear_," someone's voice echoed through the radio. "_She's not here."_

The man quickly lowered the volume and spun the light around.

Claire ran her right hand down her face as she thought. The man moved away from her, giving her time to move further away. The hard part was yet to come. He shown his light down every column and once he reached the end of the columns that he would go down each row. There was no way to time it perfectly so that she could run between rows without him seeing her.

_Fool,_ she thought. He was moving away from the door instead of staying by it. Staying by the door would seemingly trap her. Unless… that was the trap. Having her get comfortable, but in reality there were lycans waiting in the stairs.

Her eyes stared at the studying tables near the windows. _Use those_, she thought. Yes, she could run and push the tables through the glass, creating an opening for her to escape. She was three stories up, which meant her landing would be painful, to say the least. But they wouldn't expect it. Or…

Claire braced herself, readying to run.

"Hey!" The man shouted as the light fell on her. She pushed herself up and ran. She could hear him tearing the room apart as he transformed into a lycan and ran after her, tearing the bookshelves apart as he ran.

She jumped on a chair and used her momentum to get up on one of the desks. She braced herself and prayed that the window would break. She could hear the lycan roar in anger as he lunged at her. At that moment, she hit the window with her foot and pushed her body away with all her might, cracking the window. She sailed over the surprised lycan, who glanced up in surprise. The window didn't hold for the lycan as his entire body collided with it. It shattered, sending the lycan down to the pavement below.

Claire didn't wait for the lycan to recover. She ran toward the stairs and threw the door open. She ran up the flight of stairs and entered the roof.

"Not again," she whispered to herself. But it was the only 'safe' option she could think of. Running down the two flights to ground level meant running into more lycans. She looked around, bouncing up and down. "Come on," she whispered. David and Selene should have caught up to her. Suddenly, she realized. She hadn't told them about the library. She had never hinted where she would go if she left.

"Dumbass," she said as she smacked her forehead. It would be a miracle if they found her.

The door flew open behind her and she swung around to face her foe. He was an ugly lycan. Fresh blood pooled down one side of his face, where he had been slashed by probably another lycan. He slowly made his way to her. She could tell it was painful for him to walk, and it was painful for her to watch. With each step he took, his body became more and more human until she recognized him.

"Sam," she whispered.

"I… I told them," he coughed. His one good eye was red. "I told them everything!" He growled at her and she took two quick steps back. He cocked his head, laughed, the choked and spat out blood. "Well… almost everything."

"Sam," she whispered again, shaking her head.

He sneered at her. "Do I detect pity?" he asked then coughed.

She narrowed her eyes and shifted her stance. "Why are you talking to me?"

He chuckled. "They thought that I was going to join up with you again. But then I convinced them…" He coughed. "Told them that I would take you dead or alive. They have to see with their eyes. They won't believe." His left hand moved. In it, she saw a knife. He was fighting against himself. "We are becoming stronger. And not divided. We have taken what once belonged to the vampires." He cackled and blood came out of his mouth. "Soon, we will all be under the rule of one Alpha. She will guide us to victory!"

He roared as he charged her, dropping the knife. He threw himself into the air, changing back into a lycan. She dove under him and bit her lip to keep from screaming as pain ran down her back. She grabbed the knife and rolled onto her feet.

He slammed face first onto the hard roof floor. He screamed in pain and anger and got to his feet. Spinning on the soles of his feet, he rushed at her. She held the large knife in her hand and waited. He lunged at her again, but this time, she didn't duck.

He hit her and the two flew back. With lightning speed, she slammed the knife into his chest, puncturing his heart. He let out a yelp, then his body went still. The two slammed onto the floor, his heavy body knocked the wind out of her.

"Sorry, Sam," she whispered. She pushed him off of her and stood, looking around for the next fight. She had wanted to use the vampire hybrids some more, but there was no telling if they would arrive on time. So…

The door to the roof flew open and a lycan rushed at her. He didn't look normal. His body looked almost human, as if he was in the middle of transforming, but he wasn't. She threw her knife at it, stabbing it in the head. It collapsed and she ran to retrieve her knife. A body slammed into her, nearly knocking the wind out of her again. She looked up and placed her hands on the lycan's chest, and right under his chin: Lycan chest, but human head. He howled as he tried to bite her. He clawed at her, hoping to distract her with the pain.

Suddenly, he was pulled off of her as David snarled and bared his teeth at the creature. David didn't waste another second as he snapped the lycan's neck.

"Were you bit?" David yelled at Claire.

She quickly shook her head.

"Come!" he said, quickly pulling her to her feet. He ran to the side of the building and looked down. "Let's go," he said as he reached out his hand toward her.

She didn't hesitate as she took it and he lifted her off the ground. He jumped off the building, nearly flying into the ones close by. He used the sides of those buildings to slow down his fall and eventually landed. "Let's go," he said as he placed her back on her feet and grabbed her hand.

"Are you alone?" she asked in concern.

He didn't answer her as they rushed down the alley, and turned down a street. He stopped next to a manhole and pulled it open. "Get in," he commanded.

"But…"

"Now!" He snapped.

She glared at him, but followed his instructions and climbed down the ladder. He soon followed and closed the cover over him. It was nearly pitch black and difficult for any human to see. She wrapped her arms around herself, as if she were cold.

"This way," he said as he grabbed her hand again and led her through the underground maze.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, he stopped next to a wall and crawled into a tube. It was barely big enough for him. She looked around then followed him. When she reached the end he grabbed her hands and pulled her out. He placed a stone over the end of the tube, making it seem as if it was at the end of a wall.

Claire dusted herself as she looked around. They were in a small room that had three different entrances.

"This way," he said, taking the right door. She followed him down a dully lit hall. The walls were bare with nothing but the little light fixtures. Curtains covered the entrances to other rooms. But it appeared that there was no one living there.

David stopped next to one of the curtains and pulled it to one side so that Claire could enter. The room was practically empty with only a cot at the far end, and a small cabinet on the opposite corner.

"What is…" Her sentence was cut short when she felt his cold hands touch her skin.

"Were you bit?" he demanded. The next thing she knew her shirt was off. She screamed in horror and spun around, slapping David in the face.

He blinked in surprise as she grabbed her shirt and held it over her chest.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she screamed.

"If you were bit and turned into a lycan, so help me!" he yelled. The two stared at each other, neither wanting to back down.

"I wasn't bit!"

Finally, David moved and headed toward the cabinet. He opened it and pulled out a first aid kit. "Some vampires had humans with them when they went underground," he said, explaining why the box was there. "They brought these with them in case of emergencies."

Claire held her shirt against her chest and sat down on the cot. He walked over and crouched next to her, leaving the kit beside her. He tried to retract his fangs, but it was hopeless due to the blood.

"Looks bad," he said as he gently examined the slashes on her back.

"Looks can be deceiving," she said softly.

He grabbed the bottle of alcohol and a cloth. "This might sting."

She didn't move as he tried his best to be gentle and clean her wounds. She was right. The blood on her back had made him believe that her wounds were deeper than they really were. There were also some scratches on her arms, but those didn't look bad either. At least there weren't any bite wounds.

"How did you find me?" she asked. Her voice was soft

"By luck," he said. "I was driving Sebastian back and he spotted his car along the road. I saw the lycan falling out of the window and knew you had to be inside."

"And Selene and Michael?"

David stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "Did you honestly expect us to come to your rescue again? Selene said to let you die. We have risked our lives enough for you. And you're constantly getting yourself into danger."

"That I am," she agreed with him. He blinked in surprise. "I'm sorry."

Again he was surprised. "For what?"

"I promised that I wasn't going to run away. And, honestly, I wasn't trying to run away. And I won't do it again. Well..." she paused and bit her cheek. "Not unless I have to. Understand? Sam was alive, and he knew a lot. A lot more than he should have."

"He knew where to go. Where the descendent is at," David said for her.

"Was," she said with a nod. "I didn't even think of telling you. I had to get there, warn them and if I died… well I died."

"And if they had captured you? They would have gotten the information from you."

She shook her head. "The only person who knows where they are going is dead, has been for some time. Alexander set up some safe houses that only he and the descendent knew. They can torture me to death, but they'll never get it out of me because I don't know." She stopped and looked at him curiously. "Which means that I'm of no use to you either."

"You haven't been for two weeks," he said, returning to cleaning her back.

"Why keep me around?"

He didn't answer. He didn't want to. Suddenly, she reached out to him and cupped his face with her hands. Her blue eyes searched his brown ones in earnest. Just as quickly as she had grabbed him she let him go. She turned her attention back to the floor, letting him finish with her back.

He frowned. There was a strange scar in the middle of her back. It was oval shaped roughly an inch long. He felt a strange need to touch it, but stopped himself when her body shook. "Are you…" he started, but was interrupted by her laughter. Immediately, he frowned. He was sure she was laughing at him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Thank you," she said, pulling herself closer to him.

He didn't know what to do. His arms hung useless beside him. "For what?" he asked, letting his right arm up and gently patting her.

She pulled away and smiled sweetly at him. "For all you have done. I hadn't even thought about it. Not really," she said, shaking her head. "I've been so focus. So used to being protected and protecting at the same time. I was so focused, so determined I hadn't even thought about the fact that I had done nothing for you. And you don't owe me. But you kept me around." Her eyes looked into his.

He wanted to kiss her. She pulled away and stifled a yawn. "What are we going to do now?" she asked, suddenly changing the subject.

"Stay here for now. It'll be easier for us to go out in the daylight," he said, trying not to sound too relieved. If she had pressed him he wasn't sure what he was going to say.

She put on her torn shirt and nodded.

"I'll be right back," he said. He left the room and wandered into the other rooms looking for blankets. There were none. The vampires had abandoned the underground facilities long ago, never intending on returning so they had taken nearly everything with them. He sighed in defeat and headed back to the room where he had left Claire. He paused at the entrance. She was asleep already.

He placed his hand on his neck where she had whispered 'thank you'. He could still feel her hot breath against his skin and her body against his. He took off his jacket and placed it over her. It was strange to think that he liked a human, especially one who constantly found herself in danger. Still, he couldn't help but think and relate to Selene and Michael. Selene was a private person, but he knew that she and Michael did not know each other for very long. She had risked everything to keep him safe. And she loved him.

David looked at Claire. That's what he was doing now. Well, he wasn't risking the coven. They were so small now that they wouldn't throw him out unless he was an enemy. No, he was risking his life by protecting her. But, it was natural for him. He wondered if things would change between them. Or would they return. Would she forget that she thanked him? Would she be guarded again? Suddenly, he couldn't wait for morning, but dreaded it at the same time. Would it bring a new beginning for their blossoming friendship? He couldn't help but hope.


	10. Good Day for a Walk

"Fool!" Elizabeth shrieked as she slapped Luke. She was positively livid. He had given Sam the still unfinished formula and sent the asset out, getting him killed. She had no doubt in her mind that the Sam knew more. He was slowly beginning to break. The pain was starting to make him hallucinate, and he was beginning to speak to her scientist.

_"I ain't a babysitter, Mr. Macaro," _he had said once while staring at no one.

Macaro… It was one of the aliases that her father had used. Sam had met her father. She desperately wanted to talk to him. To ask him what was her father's plan. Why had her father abandoned her? And all sorts of questions. But Luke had ruined that for her.

Luke looked up at her from his seat and slowly set his fork down. He had been in the middle of eating his food. The other lycans who sat at the table stiffened. She had never lashed out. Instead, she pretended to be meek and mild. No one had ever seen her lose her temper.

"He knew more! Why would you do that?" Her body hurt as every part of her tensed in anger.

He didn't answer as he stood up to his full height. The lycans looked from one to the other. They didn't know her. They didn't know exactly who she was or what she was capable of. They knew Luke and they knew that he was strong now. She didn't back down. Instead, she straightened her body, challenging him to try something.

"I created you," she whispered just loud enough so that only he could hear. She couldn't emasculate him. Not yet. Her plan wasn't complete yet. But she was reaching it.

His speed was faster than she had anticipated. Suddenly, his hand was around her neck and her body slammed against the wall. She gasped in surprise as he pressed hard.

"You're weak," he snarled as his eyes turned canine. "Everyone here is weak," he turned his head slightly and spoke loudly so that the others could hear him. This time he whispered in her ear. "Do not touch me or yell at me like that again," he said.

She didn't move.

"Leave us!"

Instantly, the other lycans jumped to their feet and obeyed his command.

Luke let her go, and she fell to the ground. He slowly walked to the large table and placed his palms on the surface. "Sam was right," he finally said the instant they were alone. "You were a fool."

Elizabeth rubbed her neck, but didn't say a word as she warily eyed him. Red caught her eye and she looked down at her hand. He had scratched her, making her bleed.

Luke howled as he grabbed the table and ripped it off the floor, throwing it across the room. Then, he stood in front of her. His body shook as he reached out to her then he yelled as he pulled away. "You don't get it do you?" he screamed, then laughed.

"Luke," she cooed, regaining her composure. She had to get him back under control. She had to control him again. He was the only successful lycan hybrid she had been able to create left. Anderson was gone, had been for a few weeks thanks to someone in Selene's group. The test subjects still hadn't been able to come close. There was always something majorly wrong with them. And now most of them were dead, thanks to Luke.

Luke's eyes softened ever so slightly as she reached out to him and touched his cheek.

"My sweet Luke," she said. Her voice dripped with sexiness and she leaned up and kissed him.

His body shook as if he were fighting an internal battle. He roughly grabbed her shoulders and she smiled at him.

"Why don't we…" she started to say, but he interrupted her, pulling her into a tight bear hug.

"You don't see," he whispered in her ear. "I can smell you. You smell…" he took in a deep breath. "So divine. I want you so badly and I want to _murder you_." He squeezed her harder, forcing her to scream in pain.

Her wings popped out of her back, stabbing his shoulders. He let her go. She didn't waste another second and threw herself back and up into the far corner of the room. She touched the wall and hissed at him.

"Wings," he said in awe. He didn't look at his wounds as they quickly healed. "Why did you never tell me?"

She didn't answer as she hissed again.

He looked down at his hand and realized that he had some of her blood on it. Slowly he licked his fingers and shuddered. "You made the perfect machine," he said, looking up at her. "I sent Sam because we don't need him. I can smell you. I can smell the Corvinus bloodline."

She blinked in surprise. Her fear of him temporarily gone. "Are you sure? How do you know?"

He nodded. "The other hybrids," he said. "I should have known when I first met Selene. My senses went crazy. I wanted to murder every single one of them." He smiled and licked his lips. "I will. I smell you, and as much as I love your smell I hate it to. I hate his blood, and I'm going to destroy everyone who has it. I heard that you were trying to make the perfect lycan to end the Corvinus bloodline." He raised himself up to his full height. "And you have. Come to me, my queen. But never forget. _I _am the alpha here."

Elizabeth floated down toward him and retracted her wings. She forced her body to relax and smiled as he licked her neck. She couldn't let him know that she was troubled.

Sam was right. Out of all the consequences she had thought she had never foreseen this. Still, she would find a way to use this to her advantage. Clearly Luke didn't want her dead, or he would have tried long ago. Maybe he really couldn't kill her. Her brain screamed at her to think rationally, to kill him while she had the chance. But she pushed those thoughts away. No, she could control him. She would learn to spot his bouts of rage and use them against him. He would be her tool to kill the rest of the Corvinus line, and when he was done with that he would kill his own kind.

_~OWNF~_

_David heard Claire's scream and rushed up the stairs. Each time he felt that he reached the roof he saw another set of stairs. No matter how fast he tried to go he just couldn't outrun the climbing stairs. Finally, he reached the top and kicked the door open._

_She wasn't in trouble, despite her scream that he heard only a moment before. She crouched at the ledge of the roof and looked down. The wind blew her hair straight up, making her look like the bride of Frankenstein. It would have been comical if he hadn't just ran to save her from whatever mess she had gotten herself into. Again!_

_He opened his mouth to chastise her for scaring him, but no words came out of his mouth. Her fingers were incredibly pale and long. A lycan jumped up and landed behind her. She didn't notice. David tried to get to her, but he wasn't fast enough. __He heard what sounded like a wet snap, and she fell to the ground. The lycan roared as he placed his foot on her fallen body. _

David forced his body to wake up. His body felt weak and his heart raced. He shook his head, trying to banish the panic that had suddenly consumed him. Something heavy lay around him and he realized that it was his coat. Hadn't he given that to Claire? His eyes darted around the room and landed on the empty cot.

"God dammit!" he hissed to himself as he stood up. He rushed down the halls, looking for her. He couldn't believe that she disappeared, _again!_ Didn't they come to an understanding the night before? He silently cursed at himself. He really couldn't trust her. He stopped searching and sighed. This was it. He was done. She clearly didn't want to be around him and...

The sound of someone moaning, grunting, and muttering incoherently caught his attention. He stopped next to a room and pulled the curtain back.

Claire whirled on her heels and looked at him in surprise. She blushed slightly as if he had caught her doing something naughty. He blinked in surprise, unsure of what to do. She hadn't left after all. Her tattered shirt lay on the ground. He glanced at her wounds. The blood had dried up, leaving long red scabs down her back. They would turn into scars and he couldn't help that. He almost reached out to touch them. He wished he could heal them. But that would mean turning her into a vampire, and he couldn't do that to her. She didn't want it.

"How can anyone breathe in these?" she asked, lightening the mood. She smiled mischievously. She wore a short shirt that was designed to look like a corset. It was a little too small for her, causing her breasts to pop out further and showing most of her midriff.

David forced himself not to react. He suddenly realized just how fit she was. Most of the clothes that she had worn were baggy on her body, making her look slightly overweight. But, now he could see the muscles on her arms. She looked almost perfectly toned. When had she found time to exercise in the last two weeks? He couldn't help but wonder why she was hiding her body. "I see you found some clothes," he managed to say.

She nodded and he bit his cheek from laughing as she unclasped the shirt, loosening it. She let out a loud sigh of relief. "Much better," she said, turning her back toward him. She grabbed a man's shirt and slipped it on. "Honestly, your women and their tight clothes. There really is no need. It's so hard to breathe," she said, shaking her head.

He chuckled. "We recently decided to embrace the gothic style after the popularity of the various vampire books. Why prove the authors wrong? We're not as 'cool' as they think we are."

"Vampires have always embraced the gothic style," she stated then snorted, shaking her head.

"We also don't have to really worry about breathing," he added then frowned. She sounded so sure of her statement.

"What is the plan for the day?" she asked, turning to face him.

"I'm unsure," he said. "I didn't have a real plan when I came here."

She looked up at the ceiling. "I'm sure it's still daylight." She frowned and cocked her head as she looked at him. "But that isn't a problem for you."

He nodded as he leaned against the doorframe.

"If we can," she hesitated for a moment. "I would like to get some clothes. Maybe get enough clothes so I can wear something different every day for at least a week. I'm thankful for being able to borrow clothes, but if I'm going to be staying at your coven I think I should have my own clothes."

He nodded. "Acceptable," he said.

She smiled.

"We best get going," he said, standing up straight. "I should probably let the coven know I am well."

She nodded as she followed behind him.

The way out of the underground house seemed to take less time than it did on their way in. David took a different path from the one they had used to get there. Instead of exiting from a manhole, they came out of a rundown apartment building. A few tenants lounged around and stared at them as they walked by, but no one bothered them. Still, David placed his arm protectively around Claire's waist as they walked out of the building.

Coming out of the building, he blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight.

"Where to?" Claire asked.

He let her go as he walked toward a pay phone. "First we need transportation," he said as he picked up the receiver.

_~OWNF~_

Normal day. It was a strange thought for David. He was so used to fighting or hiding that that felt normal. But here he was, shopping with Claire. One upon a time, his father had said that the vampires were rich, but now they had only enough money to support the bare essentials. At least they had more now than they did before Selene came. But it wasn't the vampire's money that Claire was spending. Selene would have thrown a fit if they did. Instead, Claire used was what she called an "emergency" credit card.

Shortly after, he called the coven letting them know he was well and for no one to come for them. Not that he expected anyone to come for him. Selene had made it quite clear that she no longer wanted anything to do with Claire due to her recklessness.

He called a taxi service. Claire directed them to a bank where she had stored a small box. Inside the box were passports, some money and a credit card. She had given him the money, opting to use the credit card instead.

David glanced over at Claire as the two walked through the forest. They had spent most of the day in the city, shopping for clothes for Claire. Everything that she had bought had been practical to wear. He had seen a few dresses and almost asked her to try them on, but he had to refrain himself. This wasn't the time for that. As they went, he kept his eyes out for anyone following them. But there was no one. They had the taxi driver leave them at a tavern just outside of the city. It was a long walk back to the coven, but David knew of a vampire hideout with a car.

The sun was getting low in the sky. In an hour or so it would be completely dark.

Claire spotted a log running along their path and quickly hopped on it. She extended her arms out beside her and carefully walked down the length of the log as if it were a balancing beam. She wore a backpack that was filled with the clothes that she had bought. Although he had told her he would carry the bag, she had refused him. It was her burden after all. When she reached the end he reached out his hand to her and she took it. It almost looked like she was floating in the air as he helped her down.

"Thank you," she said with a large smile before she giggled.

David smiled then frowned. It was strange to see her so relaxed. "We should have let you talk to your charges before," he found himself saying. "You seem much happier and younger now." He hadn't meant to add the last part, despite it being true. It was almost as if she had lost ten years to her look. She looked as if she were in her early to mid-twenties versus her late thirties. To tell the truth, he wasn't even sure how old she was. He had only recently made the observation.

Her smile vanished as she cocked her head. "I look younger?" she asked. She sounded more curious than angry.

David bit his lip but nodded. "You were very tense the last two weeks. You looked much older than you do now." He tensed, waiting for a verbal assault, but none came.

She looked away. "Hmm," he heard her say.

He opened his mouth then closed it. He almost asked her what her age was. For some reason, he no longer thought it was appropriate to ask. "How long have you worked for Alexander?" He hoped that would change the subject just enough to get her to stop brooding.

She didn't answer as she stared in front of her.

Inwardly, he cursed himself. Why did he have to say she looked younger now? From what he understood, women were sensitive about their age. That had to be the dumbest comment he had ever said. He desperately raked his mind for some topic, something else to say to get her to talk to him and not be angry, to get off the subject.

"I really looked older?" she asked, stopping in front of him and looking at him.

He gulped. He couldn't lie. He had already said she did. "You were just very serious. You look… happy now. And that makes you look younger."

She sighed. "I never noticed," she said then snorted, shaking her head. She turned and started walking again. "My father used to tell me that too. He said that when I was serious or had a lot on my mind I would look like I was carrying the world. He said that only then would he worry about me. My thoughts. He always worried that I would do something rash without telling anyone. Usually, I did. As you can well see. I have this terrible habit of either keeping people out of my plans, or assuming that they knew them."

David didn't say anything. This was the first time she talked so personal. It was only logical that she had a father. How else was she born? But she had never mentioned any family until that moment. "Do you want to call your father? Tell him you are well?" She stiffened and he winced. He knew he had stepped in it again. Why did he keep doing that?

"My father is dead," she simply said. "Has been for a while."

"Do you have any family left? Someone that Sam would know of who they can use against you?"

She shook her head. "Naw." She gave him a weak smile. "Only people I had to worry about are safe now."

The two were quiet as they continued their walk.

"David?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes?"

"I have only one thing to ask of you. Something that I need you to promise me," she stopped moving, forcing him to stop and look at her.

"What is it?" he asked.

She kept quiet for a minute as her eyes scanned his face. "I need you to promise me that no matter what, you'll never turn me into a vampire."

He gulped in surprise. She was dead serious. "Even if you're dying?" he asked. "You still have a life. You do realize that I'm…"

"I know you're a hybrid, David," she interrupted. "And most likely you'll turn me into a hybrid as well. But, David, it's not a life I want. Whatever happens, even if I'm dying, never turn me. Trust me, when I say, that if you do. I'll never forgive you and you'll never see me again."

He hesitated. Her blue eyes watched him intently. "I promise," he finally said.

She reached out her hand and he took it. They shook hands. "Normally, I would make this a blood oath, but…" she smiled, once again lightening the mood.

He chuckled.

"How much longer?" she asked.

"Shouldn't be too long," he said.

He could feel the ease pass between them as they walked. She trusted him. The path led them out of the woods and along a lake. Claire stopped walking and stared at the lake.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

She didn't reply. Her eyes were glazed over and he had a feeling that she wasn't there anymore. He slowly reached out and touched her hand. She gasped in surprise and pulled away. She breathed rapidly and covered her mouth. "Sorry," she said into her palm.

"You're safe," he said as he reached his hand to her. "We're not going through that."

She nodded and grabbed his hand, putting his body between her and the lake. Now more than ever he wanted to know what happened. But he had a feeling that if he asked she would completely shut down.

It didn't take them that long to walk around the lake and back into the woods. "I've had bad experiences with dark water," she finally muttered.

He looked at her in surprise. He hadn't expected her to say anything. She didn't look at him as they continued to walk.

"Dark, murky water," she shivered.

David opened his mouth to say something, but she spoke first.

"Is that it?" she asked, pointing to a cabin that was in sight.

"Yes," he said.

She stopped walking and he looked at her curiously. "Can I ask another favor?" she asked.

He nodded his head.

"If it's not too much trouble. Can we stay here tonight? Unless the coven needs you, that is. I mean. I don't mind going back, but… I would just rather stay here for a night or two. Is that alright?"

"I don't see a problem with that," he answered. It was true. So far, they had no reason to hurry back to the coven.

The wind picked up, and Claire wrapped her arms around her chest.

"Let's hurry," he said as he picked up his pace. She wasn't far behind him. The two entered the cold and empty cabin. He grabbed her hand and led her down a secret passageway into another room.

"Good thing I bought this," she said as she took out a jacket from her backpack and put it on.

There were little lights in the room, giving it a dull glow.

"There is a room over there that you can sleep in," he said as he pointed to his right. Claire looked in that direction and nodded her head.

"I'm not that tired yet," she replied. She shifted her weight and he realized that the air between them had changed. It was different from last night. The two of them were now alone and she was looking at him. There was something different about her eyes and her expression. "So, David," she said, sitting down on a chair. "I've talked quite a bit on our walk. How about you tell me about yourself?"

He found a chair and sat down. "What would you like to know?" he asked. "Surely you read the histories that Tanis is working on?"

She nodded. "I read that you sided with Selene when everyone else was against her. You tried to protect Eve from some hybrids."

He nodded. "I did."

"Why?"

He leaned back as he thought. "I," he paused. "I just knew it was the right thing to do," he finally finished. "My people were but a shadow of the greatness that we once were. When I spotted Selene I knew that she was our hope. She was the one person who could bring us back to our former greatness. I just didn't realize it would take so long." He chuckled as he shook his head.

Claire shook her head. "One can never go to what they once were," she whispered.

He looked at her in surprise. She thought him foolish.

"Kingdoms come and go. It's in the histories. I have yet to hear of a kingdom that has gone and come back again, restoring itself to its former glory. Even Corvinus, in his immortal life, could never regain what he had lost."

David cocked his head. "Are you saying that the vampires or even lycans will never achieve our former glory? Be like we once were?"

Claire nodded her head. "Everything has changed for you now. Were before Mr. Corvinus and his people hid your affairs and protected both lycans and vampires from the public, now everyone knows. You can't go back to that time where they didn't. Everyone will be wary of vampires and of lycans."

"So you think we will forever have to hide. To be outcasts. Living in sewers and underways? That is the life of the vampires now?" David spat, more curious than angry. Her words made sense. He still didn't like them.

Claire shook her head. "Not necessarily. But people in power hate those who are stronger and greater than they are. Which is why vampires and lycans were perceived as a threat. Even if one day you were able to take up your life and live in your mansion again as a coven, people would figure it out. You would get pilgrims who beg for the immortal life. And murderers who fear and try to destroy you."

He watched her.

"I think…" she paused and a frown crossed her face before she nodded. "Out of everyone, you, Selene, Michael and Eve have the greatest chance of surviving. The vampires had always been at a disadvantage, being unable to go out in the sun. The lycans have always been able to hide among humans, during the day and at night."

"So you think that we should leave the vampires to die out? Leave my father? Or turn them into hybrids?" He had no intention of turning his father or any of the other vampires in hybrids. As much as he loved his father, he didn't trust him with greater power. Nor did he trust the others. He looked at her curiously.

She shrugged, surprising him. "It's not my choice to make," she said. "Look. I can't say that it'll break my heart if there were no more vampires or lycans."

"Yet your guardian was a lycan," he pointed out.

She paled and nodded. "Yes, but he's dead."

"And if I were to die? Will you act so callously about it?" He watched her expression. For a brief moment, panic ran across her face.

"Then you die," she said with a serious face. She stood up. "Look, David," there was anger in her voice, "I can't lie to you. Many people have died around me." Her body tensed and she started to breathe deeply. "If you die before I do then you will just be another casualty."

He looked at her stunned. Her eyes glistened and she quickly turned away.

"I'm tired," he heard her whisper. "Night."

He didn't move as she stepped into the empty room and closed the door. Her shell had gone back up. He sighed. He was back to square one.

_~OWNF~_**  
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**A/N: So FFN is giving me trouble with the breaks, so I had to improvise. Thanks so much for your favorite/alerts/reviews. I love them all, and even you readers who continue to read without doing any of those things. I'm sorry for the little bit longer wait. I, apparently, decided to redo an old story, and had three new plots for different fandoms pop into my head. But, I've actually got more time on my hands. So I think I can tackle all of my projects. At the very least I should have a chapter uploaded each week. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm honestly looking forward to the next chapter, so that might come up sooner rather than later. **

**Sam0728 - Glad you liked my last chapter. Hope you enjoyed this one too. **

**harrylee94 - Yes they are developing feelings. Or have they been there all along and someone was just to stubborn to realize? **

**Emberlies - Glad you enjoy my story.**

**Arya - I know. I wish I could update faster. I would just rather you read a chapter that I am proud of, then one that I do in a rush just to get something out there. Plus, waiting a little bit helps me not reveal more than I want to. After all, I haven't reached my favorite chapter yet (yes, I have already written it, but you must be patient as it is a little ways away). And what doesn't Selene know? Ah, but that is to be revealed in a much much future chapter (favorite chapter? I think so).**


	11. Barriers Broken

**A/N: Thanks Druid Archer. Honestly, I wouldn't have figured out how to do this part without your review. Hope you like it. I so should sleep now. I'm going to be so tired for work.**

~OWNF~

David paced back and forth as he thought. They were having a decent conversation then she suddenly shut him out, again. He was beginning to side with Selene now. What was the point in getting friendly and risking _his _life for some ungrateful brat. She acted as if he owed it to her and he didn't. No, he wasn't going to let her sleep. He was pissed.

David threw open the door and Claire jumped to her feet. "What the hell, David?" she shrieked.

"So you do feel emotions," he snapped. "Or do you? What is wrong with you?"

Claire looked at him in surprise then her eyes narrowed in anger. "Wrong with me?" she said in a deadly voice.

"Yes!" he yelled. "Wrong with you? You're human, right?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" she snarled.

"You feel emotions don't you?" he said as he neared her. "Why not show them? Why do you always lock yourself up? Every time I see some sort of emotion come out of you you seem to realize and quickly go cold. I'm starting to think you are a vampire. Hell, other _vampires _show more emotions then you!" He was pissed and slightly happy at the same time. He could see the anger in her body, in her eyes.

"Emotions?" she snarled. "How about now? You happy?"

"No!" he said, shaking his head. "Why can't you let yourself feel? I see it in you. When you actually smile, when you actually feel something nice? We were having a decent conversation just now and you just went cold on me."

"Feel?" she snapped. "You mean love? Let's see how well that's gone for me. Hmm…" she pretended to ponder. "Okay. I loved my family. Where are they now? All dead. Sam, my protector? Dead. Well… maybe that's not the love that you mean. Okay, how about the man that I married? Oh yes, I was married before. I loved him. Guess what? He's dead. Why is he dead? Because of me! Everyone I have ever loved or cared about has died before me. So don't you dare tell me to feel! I've had enough of feeling. I've had enough of caring and loving. The only way I can continue is by being like… this!"

"So you would rather feel self-pity and lockout those who want to help you?!" He countered. "So what if you have lost people you loved. Do you think you are the only one? Do you think I haven't lost people I've loved? Sure, my father is still alive, but what about my mother? What about my friends? Think I didn't lose anyone during the purge or after? But I keep living. I keep _feeling_. I don't lock myself up and pretend that I don't care, because I do care. Even Selene, in all her years, has found love and she _feels _and _shows _it to Michael and her daughter Eve. You're a pathetic excuse for a human. Maybe I should turn you. At least then you'll actually have a reason to be cold and callous!"

Claire took a step back. He could see that his words had an effect on her. The angry slowly left her face, leaving almost helplessness. "I feel, David," she whispered then slowly sank to the ground. "Do you realize how hard it is? Yes, I know you have lost people, but…" She stopped herself before continuing. Her chest heaved and a few tears ran down her cheeks. "It's so hard, David. It's so hard to wake up; knowing that you might find out that every single person you once knew is dead. If I just let myself care or be happy then the world shatters to pieces around me, every time. The last time…" she swallowed hard. Then she looked at him. "What if I did fall for you, David? What if I showed you the emotions that I have felt for you? What if I let myself go? And then what if I lose you too? How can I keep on living, losing one more person? I don't think I'll be able to take it."

He knelt in front of her. "Isn't that what it means to be human?" he asked her softly. "Take risks. Everyone is going to die eventually. And shouldn't that be the question that I ask _you? _You are human. You are guaranteed to die before me. Unless..."

She smiled then let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head.

"Will you try?" he asked her.

She let out a deep breath then looked at him. "Will you have patience with me?" she asked. Then suddenly she wrapped her arms around his neck. Slowly, he patted her back. She wasn't crying. She just wanted to feel his arms around her.

"You have no idea how hard it is to pretend that you don't care," she whispered in his ear. She breathed in and out. She curled herself onto his lap and he just held her. Whatever barriers she had around her heart were gone. She was completely vulnerable and open to him. He knew that he was in. Apparently, he had been. She just refused to let herself feel it.

He moved and leaned against the wall of the small room, spreading his legs out. She kept her head on his shoulder and her arms around his neck. "It's… my father told me that it is my biggest flaw," she finally spoke. "He would complain to me about it. Said he wanted to see me happy before he died. I just pretended that I was. But he saw through it." She let out a loud sigh. "I would see it in his eyes. We would argue about it and then he would relent. But it was there in his eyes. He knew I was lying. I would tell him that I was happy, but he knew."

"I bet working for Corvinus didn't help," David said.

Claire snorted. "He wasn't a bad man," she defended. "He just… he had other thoughts in his head. Marcus and William were always his favorites. Of course, he would never admit it. They were his eldest."

"From what I heard from Selene. He cared about his men too and they cared for him." Now he was defending the bastard.

She nodded her head. "Yes. But his mission was always about keeping Marcus' and William's descendants a secret. Protect them and in a way protect his line, I guess. Which is where my group came in. He was so focused on protecting the lycans and werewolves he would have neglected his human descendants. Not that he was doing that on purpose," she quickly added. "He… he was human. There really isn't much else to say about that. He wasn't a god. He couldn't think about everyone and everything and plan for whatever. Is that your heart?"

Her sudden change of subject surprised him. "What?" he asked. "Oh, yes."

She pressed in closer. "Wow," she whispered. "I don't think I've ever heard a vampire's heart before."

"I'm a hybrid, remember?"

"Haven't forgotten," she replied. She placed her right hand on his chest and he felt her smile. "Falling for a vampire," she whispered. "Excuse me hybrid," she quickly corrected herself.

He chuckled. He felt her breathing deepen until he realized that she had fallen asleep. He didn't exactly want to let her go. Progress, after all. He gulped. But again, would she show emotions in the morning? Or would her old shell come back. He really hoped not. He wasn't sure he could handle another fight like that.

~NWOF ~

David's eyes snapped open as he took in a deep breath.

"What?" Claire asked as she pulled away from him and looked around. She had been in the same position since she had fallen asleep. He couldn't help but stare at her in surprise. He honestly hadn't expected it.

"Ouch," she complained as she stretched her body. "If we do that next time let's be in a bed." He could hear the popping in her body as she stretched the kinks out. She reached her hand to him and helped him stand.

He flashed her his best smile. "So," he said. "You do feel." He couldn't help but bring that back up.

"I thought we resolved that last night," she said, placing her hands on her hips. She turned her nose up in the air then looked at him through the corner of her eye before smiling.

"Let's find you something to eat. I doubt we have anything here," he said.

She shrugged. "I'm not really that hungry," she said.

"Ah, but if I were to let you faint from hunger I may lose favor in your sight," he teased.

She smiled.

"What does the lady wish to eat?"

"The lady is not hungry, but she shall eat whatever is available," she said as she made a sweeping bow.

The two walked out of the hidden basement and through the abandoned cabin. David opened the door for Claire and she skipped outside. The sun was barely peaking over the horizon.

"I can't believe it," she said, shaking her head.

"What?"

She looked at him and breathed in deeply before answering. "I… I just feel silly. You are right. My father was right. Hiding my feelings. I shouldn't have done it. I…" She let out a sigh and closed her eyes, shaking her head. "If I were to die…"

"Then I would grieve and move on," he said as he closed the door behind him.

"Life goes on," she said.

He nodded.

Claire laughed, shaking her head. "What would your father think of you?" she teased. "Falling for me?"

"He would reprimand me," he said. "Say that I should at least turn you so I don't have to worry about hurting you."

She wrapped her arms around his and leaned in closer to his body. "And you would say?"

"Where would be the fun in that?"

She poked his side. He chuckled then stopped moving. Something was wrong. He felt her tense. She felt it too. He took a step back and she followed.

"Get to the basement," he whispered. "Now!" he screamed as two lycans rushed out of the forest towards them. He pulled out his knife and waited. How in the hell did they find him and Claire? He easily dispatched one of the lycans as the other dodged him and crashed into the cabin.

"Claire!" he shouted as he ran in after the thing. It had somehow found the passageway. He zoomed inside and gaped in surprise. The lycan lay on the floor, dead. Claire stood over the body with a sword in hand. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with horror. He felt the teeth in his skin before he heard her scream. He whipped the knife behind him, cutting the creature's throat.

David staggered as the creature fell to the ground. He blinked a few times as the world around him spun. He placed his body in front of Claire as another lycan rushed down the stairs. Then he realized. These weren't real lycans. They were incomplete hybrids.

A rather loud sound of a gun echoed in David's ears. The lycan's head snapped back then fell forward. Silver oozed out of its wound. It snarled and rushed at them. Adrenaline rushed through David and he quickly beheaded the creature. Pain rushed through his body as another clawed at his back. He couldn't stop the lycan as it rushed at Claire.

Her eyes were cold as she waited for the attack. She didn't underestimate the creature's speed, and used its momentum to her advantage. She easily beheaded the creature.

"David?" she called out in concern when she looked at him.

"I'm alright," he said as he got to his feet. That was a mistake. He swayed. He could see the horror in her eyes as she started toward him. He screamed in pain as another set of jaws clamped on his already wounded shoulder. He could feel the jaws breaking his bones.

Claire slammed her entire body into the lycan, forcing it to release him. He collapsed onto his knees and tried to turn to help her. Another mistake. His quick moves made the world spin around him. He fell on his back.

"David!" she cried out again. She looked up the stairs and tensed. He heard the lycan howl as he rushed down.

"No," David tried to scream, but his voice was barely above a whisper. The lycan's body completely covered Claire's as it landed on her. "Claire," he whispered, looking for the strength to get back up. He couldn't find it.

The lycan moved and fell to one side. Claire jumped to her feet and ran up the stairs, sword in hand. He wanted to call out to her. But his body was too weak. He almost felt as if he were floating. It seemed to take forever before she appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"David!" she screamed as she dropped to her knees and shook him. "Don't die on me. Please."

He could hear her sobbing in the background, but his eyes couldn't focus. Was he really dying? She jumped to her feet. He could see her blurry image as she ran around the room, looking for something.

"If you dare die," her voice was faint as she threw drawers open. She was looking for blood, and clearly not finding any. "I swear to any god that you believe in I will personally hunt you down and thrash your soul."

Her body stiffened as she pulled something out. He couldn't tell what it was. He was already preparing himself to fight her about him feeding on her. After all, that would turn her if she even survived. He had a feeling that he would have to drink more than he wanted, and most likely kill her instead.

He closed his eyes, shaking his head. When he opened them she was beside him. "Here," she said, holding out a bag. So, she had found blood after all. "Drink, please," she begged.

He tried to smile, to comfort her. She still looked worried as she pressed the blood bag against his mouth. He didn't even have the strength to drink.

"Okay," she said as she cut the bag. She placed his head on her lap as she put the bag in his mouth and slowly squeezed the blood into his mouth. Slowly, he could feel his body start to get stronger. But there wouldn't be enough in the bag. She would have to somehow get them to the coven for more. Or get more herself.

His eyes grew heavy, but he forced them to look up at her. She seemed to purposefully avoid his gaze as she focused. His vision began to blur again. His body was starting to feel stronger, but he was sure he would actually have to rest to regain most of his strength. He forced his eyes to open one last time and looked at her.

She shook her head. "I told you. People die around me," she whispered.

But you live, he thought. He wanted to tell her. He frowned. There appeared to be a tube connected to her arm with red blood coming out and connecting to the bag. He was drinking her blood? His mind refused to work after that as it went blank and he lost consciousness.


	12. Cold No More

_Hands grabbed his body. "Do you think your husband can help you now?" a man asked then laughed. David glanced down at the water in front of him and realized that it was Claire's face that was reflected. Two men held onto her arms as she struggled._

_"Here, why don't you ask him for help," the leader yelled as he grabbed her head and dunked her into the water. _

_She struggled in the murky water, but the hands didn't let her up. He could feel her body begin to weaken. And then he saw it. A body floated only a foot in front of her. The man's face stared up at her in horror. His skin was pasty white. He had been in there for a while. She screamed as she tried to move away, but the hands kept her in place. _

_David knew that he heard laughing. She had no more oxygen left in her lungs due to her struggle. But they weren't letting her up. _

_The memory faded. Somehow she had been saved. She was alive after all. _

_His vision cleared and this time she was standing in a hospital, looking through a glass window at a bunch of babies. A year? Two years? Before? After? He wasn't sure of the timeline. An arm wrapped around her shoulder and she leaned into the body. He could see their reflections. She looked happy. No. This wasn't the man who was in the water. Their faces were different. And her feelings were different._

_"Look at him," the man said. _

_David could feel the pride in her body as she touched the glass._

_Another blackout. _

_A man screamed in the distance. "No!" Claire yelled. She scrambled to her feet and ran to a room, throwing the door open. To her left lay the man who David had seen earlier. His neck had been broken. A hand wrapped around her throat and slammed her against the wall._

~NWOF~

David's eyes snapped open as he gasped for breath. His body was stiff and there was a dull pain in his shoulder. He blinked, trying to get his bearings. He lay on the cot that was in the room that Claire had been in. His wounds were tightly bound, but he was alone. Slowly, he rose from the cot and winced. He cupped his head in his hands, trying to sort out the events in his mind.

Claire! Where was she? Were they attacked again? How long had he been asleep? He quickly stood up, and immediately regretted his action. The world spun around him. He placed his hand on the wall and let out a deep breath. Slowly, his senses started to pick up around him. It was quiet. Too quiet.

He opened the door to his room and struggled to walk out. He felt stiff and weak, but he knew he was healing. More blood and another day he knew he would be alright. He had to be cautious as he made his way toward the main room. There was no telling what was out there.

He took a step into the main room and stopped. "Ugh," Claire muttered, leaning the chair she was on as far back as possible and rubbed her face. She stopped and her eyes widened as she spotted him. He stiffened. He saw that familiar uncaring look on her face. She threw herself out of the chair, not caring that it spun out of control, and rushed over to him. He found himself in her embrace, and was surprised by the strength in it.

"Told you I wouldn't die," he finally said in relief.

She pulled away and slapped him. He blinked in surprise before her hands brought his face to hers and their lips met for the first time. He immediately wrapped his arms around her waist, ignoring the protest of his muscles. He stepped forward and she stepped back till they hit the wall. He pulled her as close as possible as they kissed. He felt her hands as they went under his shirt and up his chest. Her hands stopped at the bandage. She quickly pulled away. "Take off your shirt," she said in between breaths.

He quickly obliged, smiling.

She shook her head as she grabbed the bandage and slowly took it off. The skin was discolored in some areas, but he knew that it would heal. Her hand ran over the healing tissue, then she let out a content sigh and placed her head on his chest.

"See," he said. "You don't have to worry about me dying."

"You would have," she said, looking up at him.

He frowned then shook his head. "It would take more than a bite or two to kill me," he tried to comfort her.

She grabbed his hand and took him over to the microscope. She had evidently made herself a little laboratory. She pointed to the lens. "Look." Her fingers interlaced between his. She didn't want to let him go.

He sighed and obliged her. "What am I looking at?" he asked. It looked like one cell was destroying a set of healthy blood cells.

"Your death if you were a full vampire," she replied.

He looked up at her in surprise. "What?" he asked.

"The first lycan who bit you left that little nasty surprise. Consider its saliva the 'cure' to vampirism. It was attacking the cells in your body that made you a vampire."

He didn't know how to reply to that. "Are you saying that the lycan's saliva is now toxic to vampires?"

She shook her head. "I think we're lucky on that," she said. "This lycan and one other had the same type of saliva. Out of the eight that attacked us, only two had it."

"Still," he said, shaking his head. "That's one fourth."

She nodded. "But I don't think… whoever sent these hybrids to us were trying to get rid of them."

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"This one, on his neck was marked TS-27," she said. "The other one who was similar had TS-28. The others were numbered from 52 and beyond. If they knew that the saliva was toxic to the vampires then I'm sure that whoever is making these would not have wasted those. And 52 and beyond would have had something similar. No." she shook her head. "They were just sending these out to die."

"How do you think they found us?"

Claire nodded at the question. "I've been thinking about that too. It's possible that whoever made these just sent them out into the woods and hoped that they would find the coven or something."

David frowned. "Seems rather reckless," he said. "After all this time? Why send out your army prematurely?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm only guessing," she said.

He nodded as he thought. "We should go to the coven and warn them," he said. "It's about a three hour drive."

He started to pull away and felt her tense before she let his hand go. He walked over to her and cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I won't die," he repeated. "If anything, I have to worry about you dying."

She chuckled. "Yeah, but it'll be easier for you to move on."

He hugged her and breathed in her scent. He felt her hesitate before she returned his hug. He knew it was difficult for her. After their argument, he had nearly died. He had no doubt that in her mind it was proof that people died around her. "We should go," he found himself saying. He didn't want to let her go, and he knew she didn't want to let him go. But lives were at stake. All they had were theories. What if there was an army of lycans who had saliva that could kill the vampires. They had to go to the coven to warn everyone.

She let out a sigh and nodded.

It didn't take them that long to leave the little hideout. Claire brought all the samples that she had taken from the lycans for them to investigate further. Other than her clothes, and the handful of weapons, there wasn't much else to bring with them. David made sure to set the self-destruct before driving them away. The hideout was no longer safe. There was no need for it anymore.

David drove down the unkempt road with Claire next to him. He shot her a quick glance. Her face was soft as she stared out the window and thought. "I have to admit. I was a little scared." The words escaped his mouth before he could stop them.

She frowned. "Of what?"

"You," he said.

"Oh," she said, nodding her head. She had guessed what he meant. "Of me returning to my old mood." She leaned back and let out a long drawn out sigh, clearly contemplating on what to say. "With you, David, I won't act cold. Not like before. Unless we get into a fight, of course," she quickly added.

He chuckled, but his body relaxed with relief. He wasn't sure why, but he trusted her. "How long was I asleep?" he finally asked her.

"Three days," she answered.

"Three _days?" _he said in surprise. He had thought he was asleep for maybe a day at most.

She nodded then looked at him. "Your body wasn't sure what to do about the virus. The blood that you got helped you fight it. But you had a very high fever. I wasn't sure you were going to make it until last night."

"The bodies? What did you do with them?" He suddenly remembered that he hadn't seen nor smelled the lycan dead.

"After I took the samples I burned them," she said. "Was a hassle. Especially the ones that were in the basement."

He frowned as his mind tried to picture her dragging the dead lycans up the stairs and outside. It was slightly comical to think. "So you weren't by my side the entire time?" he couldn't help but tease.

She hit his shoulder. "I was there when it counted."

He shook his head. "Should have left them."

"And let them stink up the place?" she pitched her voice higher as she shook her head. "I would have had to deal with the smell, not you. No thanks."

He chuckled. They were quiet for a short while, but it wasn't uncomfortable for either. They passed by a lake and Claire shivered before turning away.

"How did he die?" David asked her.

"Who?"

"Your husband?" He had to know. He had to know if his dream was that or really a memory. There had been more in the sequences that he had witnessed, but he couldn't remember them. Only those three specific events. Maybe it was because that was what she had alluded to the night of their fight. Maybe his mind was just making stuff up. Or his mind had put two and two together.

"He was drowned," she whispered then she let out a long drawn out sigh. Her voice grew sad and distant. "They forced me to see his dead body in the dark water. It's why I hate dark water. I just see him in it each time. It's ridiculous." She shook her head. "I know he's not there. But every time, my mind goes back to that night."

His fists clenched the steering wheel. "What happened to those men? The ones who killed him?"He couldn't ask her the question that first came to his mind. Had they hurt her? Had they raped her? But, if those men were still alive… He would hunt them down and slowly kill them.

"A vampire killed them," she said. Unconsciously, she placed two fingers on her stomach, just above her bellybutton, and circled the area.

"A vampire?" he asked in surprise.

Claire frowned. "Why did you ask me that?" she asked him curiously, not answering his question.

"I saw it," he replied. "In my dreams. I think… your blood." He frowned. He had never seen another person's memories before. That was something that only an immortal could do to another immortal. But then again, he was a hybrid. He had never drank fresh blood before. Maybe the memories from a fresh victim stayed with him. Or the saliva of the lycan? Did that cause him to see her memories? There really were so many possibilities.

She cocked her head. "You saw my memories?" she asked.

He nodded.

She leaned in, clearly far more curious than upset. "What else did you see?"

David fidgeted. It wasn't as if he saw pleasant memories. The only one that had nice feelings with it was when she was looking at that baby. But that memory he felt the less inclined to tell her. Was it jealousy? "I another guy with dark hair get killed."

"Did you see who killed him?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Who?" The way she had asked the question was as if he would have known the culprit.

She leaned back in her seat and sighed. "Doesn't matter," she said. "He's dead now too."

The silence returned between the two as they both thought.

"Why did you do it?" he finally asked her. "Give me your blood. What if I had tried to hurt you?"

"There wasn't enough in the bag. I knew it, so I attached myself to it. I figured you'd suck out my blood as well and when I needed you to stop I would just pull the needle out."

He clenched his fists around the wheel. "And what if I had attacked you? What if I didn't want to let it stop?"

She laughed, surprising him, and shook her head. "You were too weak. Even if you had tried, I had enough strength in me to run away from you."

"And then you brought the lycan bodies upstairs and burned them, after giving your blood to me?"

"You were out for three days, David," Claire quickly said. "There wasn't much else for me to do, but wait for you to wake up. I couldn't go to the coven. I don't even know where it's at. And even if I did somehow find it, well… there is that water around it. And what would Selene do? Or what if you needed me and I had gotten lost? No," she said as her voice grew distant. "I wasn't going anywhere."

Again, they were quiet as he thought on her words. "Thank you," he finally said.

"You're welcome."

"So, how did you get into this whole mess with Corvinus? Becoming a decoy," he asked. He didn't mind the silence so much, but now that he had her talking he didn't want her to stop. Part of him was a little afraid that she would shut him out again.

She sighed. "Can we not talk more about the past?" she asked. "I… I will tell you more, but for now, I think I've had enough for today."

He nodded.

"Have you ever been in love, David?"

"I thought you said no more past?" he teased.

"For me. But we haven't talked much about you," she replied with a sly smile.

He nodded. "That is true. In love, hmmm," he said as he thought. "Never."

She blinked in surprise. "What?" she asked as if he just admitted he had committed a heinous crime.

He shrugged. "Well, before, it was about staying alive. Then after… well I had other things on my mind."

Her eyes narrowed. "So, you're a young vampire?" she asked.

"Older than you," he huffed, making her giggle.

"Whatever you say, oh ancient one."

He reached his hand out and touched her side, making her jump.

"Ah!" She squeaked. He had tickled her. He couldn't help himself as his hand ran up and down her side. She squirmed and laughed as she tried to get away. "Okay," she giggled. "Enough! I relent."

He pulled his hand away, smiling. "Next time, don't make fun of one as old as I am," he retorted. "I know the ancient tortures of old. And am much stronger and faster than you are."

She giggled then sighed. David gave her a quick glance. She sounded so tired.

"Are you alright?" he asked, trying not to frown.

"Yes," she said with a nod and placed her feet on the dashboard. "I'm just fine," she muttered.

He gave her a quick glance. She stifled a yawn, moving her body so that she faced him. "Did you sleep at all?" he asked.

"I'm sure at some point I fell asleep," she said, closing her eyes.

"You can lean the seat back," he said.

She shook her head. "I'm not tired." Despite those words her hand reached down and pulled the little level, making the seat go down a little.

He chuckled. "Not tired?" he teased.

She didn't answer. She had fallen asleep. He turned his attention back to the road. His right hand went up to his lips and he recalled their brief, but intense kiss. She had initiated it. He let a small smile cross his lips. She did like him after all.


	13. Return to the Coven

David and Claire walked down the stairs into the core of the vampire coven. He had been thinking quite a bit during their drive. At first, he was happy that she had finally given in. He knew the attraction had always been there, she even said it had, but she had been scared then. He had seen the irony when he nearly died after her revelation. But she hadn't closed herself.

And now, he was starting to have his doubts. She was human. She would eventually grow old and die. What then? What if she developed a horrible disease that threatened to take her away sooner? Or, what if, during their struggle against these lycan hybrids, she was horribly maimed? Or worse, on the verge of dying? Could he resist turning her? She had warned him of the consequences if he did. He had no doubt in his mind that she would disappear forever if he did succeed. But, at least then, she would still be alive.

A light flickered next to him, bringing him back to the present. He looked at Claire. She stared at the ground, clearly deep in thought. She had let her red hair down and it covered her back. She looked paler in the darkened stairway. He didn't like it. She was right about one thing, although David didn't want to admit it. The vampires were never going to go back to the way they were. He looked around at the nearly barren walls and did his best not to react. Was she going to have to live the rest of her short life forever in the confines of this dungeon? He didn't like that thought.

As if realizing he was looking at her she looked up at him. "David," she said softly.

"Yes?" he asked.

She looked away and bit her lip. Then she stopped walking, and he followed suite. She rubbed her bottom lip with her right index finger.

"Is it that bad?" he teased. There really wasn't anything he could think of now that she could say that she needed to be worried about.

"It's not bad," she said. "It's," she paused. "Well… There's something I think I should tell you. I mean, I don't plan on going anywhere. And I think that it would be better if I said it sooner rather than later. But…" She was rambling. He gently cupped her chin and forced her to look at him.

"Whatever it is. You can tell me," he whispered. Her skin felt warm despite her complexion.

"David," she said softly, placing her hand on his. "I…"

"Where the hell have you been, David?" Selene interrupted as she stormed over to them. Instinctively, David placed himself in front of Claire, but that didn't stop Selene from spotting the human woman. "I thought we had an understanding," she said, looking up at David.

"We were attacked and she saved my life," David responded. He knew Selene wasn't fond of Claire, but hadn't really thought of what to say or do when he saw her.

"I'm sorry, Selene," Claire said, stepping up and moving next to David. He looked at her in surprise. "I understand why you don't want me around. But we have found something very important and really don't have time for this."

David nodded. To be honest, he had briefly forgotten about the new type of lycan hybrids.

"What did you find?" Selene asked, much to his relief.

"Some of the lycan hybrids have saliva that is toxic to vampires," Claire said, holding up her backpack.

She didn't have to say anything else as they made their way to the resident vampire doctor. The woman took the samples that Claire had collected and quickly began to examine them.

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Selene asked Claire as they waited for the results.

"We were attacked at one of your safe houses. David was bit and almost died," Claire explained. "I took a sample of the creature's saliva and examined it myself. Your safe house has pretty much everything needed to come to my conclusion."

Selene frowned. "Are you a doctor?" she asked.

David frowned. He hadn't thought about that. He looked at Claire and she shook her head. "I just… I like to read and learn."

"You read how to do… that?" Selene asked a bit skeptical. Despite being very old, she had never bothered to learn medical language.

"The human is right," the doctor said. Selene and David moved closer her.

"Are you sure?" Selene asked.

The doctor sighed as she leaned back and nodded. "I'll have to examine them more, but I do believe she is correct in her assessment."

"What are we going to do?" David asked Selene. Although Claire had said that only the earlier hybrids had the venom in their saliva, that didn't mean that later ones didn't have it either. Yes, the ones who had attacked them didn't, but what about others?

"Turn everyone into a hybrid!" Thomas stated as he strode into the room.

David was slightly relieved to see his father, even if he did disagree with the man's words. "Father," David said softly, shaking his head. It was an argument that Thomas had yet to win.

"He may be right," Selene muttered. Everyone stared at her in surprise, and she looked miserable that she actually agreed with Thomas.

"Even Selene understands that this war will only be won with all of us as hybrids," Thomas said, recovering from his surprise. He looked at Selene and nodded. "We should start immediately."

"I said you may be right," Selene quickly stated, shaking her head. "I never said we would do it."

"What more do you need?" Thomas hissed. "For my son to die again for you to change your mind? Maybe next time you won't be able to bring him back." He looked from Selene to David and then spotted Claire. His eyes turned blue as his fangs descended. "What is _she_doing here?" he hissed.

David immediately stepped in front of Claire. "I'm protecting her, father," he said. He could feel her moving behind him, but he didn't look back at her. Instead, he squared his shoulders and stared his father down.

Thomas looked surprised for a brief moment, before his eyes narrowed. "You will condemn us to die the longer you wait," he said, turning his attention to Selene. Evidently, he had decided to dismiss his issue with Claire.

"Vampires have betrayed me before," Selene stated, allowing her eyes to glow blue and her fangs to come out. "I will not make a rash decision about this."

Thomas clenched his jaw. He didn't want to argue with them anymore. He knew he couldn't force them.

"I don't think that's the answer," Claire spoke.

Thomas' lips curled back in disgust. "And you think we care about what you think?"

"David is a hybrid and the bite nearly killed him," Claire pointed out, clearly not afraid of the older vampire. Her eyes were soft as was her body language. She was in no way trying to threaten Thomas. Instead, she appeared to be wanting to discuss their options.

Thomas looked at his son in surprise. David nodded, silently answering his father's question. He had almost died again.

"It may slow the process, but if all of you were to get bit I don't think you have enough blood to save all of you. I'm convinced that he would have died if I wasn't there," she said firmly. "Our best bet is to find a cure of sorts. An antidote or anti-venom to whatever this is." She waved her hand in the direction of the doctor.

"It will take me some time to figure out what exactly it does," the doctor said softly.

Selene watched Claire carefully before she nodded in agreement. "Turning everyone into a hybrid is not a decision I will make lightly. I want to know exactly what we are dealing with before making a rash decision."

Thomas took a step back. "Then you have condemned us all to die," he said. He didn't wait for them to say another word and swiftly turned on his heels and walked away.

"David," Selene said, turning her attention toward the young vampire. "I would like to discuss our options."

Claire touched David's arm and smiled. "I will find Tanis," she said, taking the hint. "Best let him know about the new details so he can record them."

David opened his mouth to protest, but she was already out the door.

"Come, David," Selene said. Hesitantly, he followed her. "Do you plan on turning her?" Selene asked after they began their walk.

He shook his head. "She doesn't want me to," he said. "She had me promise not to."

Selene let out a sigh of relief. "I do not trust her, David. She is hiding something."

"She saved me, Selene," he said, trying to defend Claire. "She gave me her blood. I," he paused. "Things have changed too."

Selene raised her eyebrows. "Between the two of you," she commented.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell her the whole truth or not. Out of everyone, she was the one who he could most relate to, having fallen for a human as well. But at the same time, they were in two completely different situations. "I don't know how they found us," he said, slightly changing the conversation. But, Selene had to know. "We were at one of our safe houses. Claire said she believed that they had been set loose, but the coincidence of them finding us is…"

"Do you think it's because of her?" Selene asked. "She called them?"

David shook his head. "If she had wanted me dead then she would have let me die," he said. He knew exactly what Selene was hinting at. "Why bring me from the abyss?"

"To attack from here," Selene said.

David shook his head. "Then they would have attacked long ago. Those lycans have no problem and no trouble attacking her to kill her. She's a friend now, Selene. And I trust her."

They were quiet as they walked. Selene contemplating on his words about Claire, and David's mind was surprisingly blank. He wasn't sure why, but he couldn't really think of anything. It was as if all his words, thoughts, and ideas had fled from him.

"Any news as to who is doing this? They must be nearby," he finally asked. They had been sending small scouting parties over the last two weeks, shortly after being attacked by hybrids.

Selene shook her head. "I agree they must be near us in order for them to attack so easily and quickly. But we have no news. Patrick has been going through everything from Detective Anderson's hard drive, but he has found little of importance. It appears that Anderson used his computer to track down the decoys, nothing more."

"They're not coming from Budapest," David said. "And we ran into a pack of eight on our way here."

"The scouts have been coming up empty as well," Selene said with a sigh. "They haven't been attacked and they haven't found any indication as to where the lycans are coming from. We've been focusing on the area southeast of Budapest, since that is where we have been attacked. But I'm beginning to believe that that is just a diversion. I've sent scouts further north." She stopped and David stopped with her. "I have noticed that the lycans have mainly attacked when only she is around. I think we can use that to our advantage. Capture a lycan or hybrid and get it to tell us the location of where they are."

"No," David said, shaking his head. He was not ready for Claire to be in danger again. She was finally safe and sound inside the coven. There was no way he was letting her back out there. He hadn't realized how relaxed he was until Selene mentioned using Claire as bait.

"It may be our only chance to catch them off guard," Selene firmly said. "Soon they will find us. It'll be better if we assault them first. It is what she was trained to be. She knows she's bait."

"And I said no," David said, crossing his arms. "Her life has been in enough danger. I will not her risk it again." He couldn't stop shaking his head. After all he had gone through. No! It was safer for her in the coven than out there. Everyone knew he protected her here. They respected that. The lycans didn't respect that out there.

Selene's eyes narrowed for a second before she continued on her walk. She thought him foolish.

"Selene!" David called out. He had no reason to continue following her. "Don't talk to her about it. Don't tell her to do this." He knew that he almost sounded desperate with that last sentence, but he could already picture the conversation; Selene talking to Claire about being bait, and Claire accepting to help them out.

Selene didn't say a word as she disappeared down a corner. David almost ran after her to make her see his side, get her to understand why he wanted Claire safe. But he knew that whatever Selene had decided to do, she would do it.

Instead, he turned and rushed over to the library, where Tanis was most likely at. David didn't even have to enter the room to know that the two were in there.

"You would make this so much easier if you would just become a vampire," Tanis whined.

"And who said I wanted to make this easier?" Claire asked. "Contrary to popular belief, I actually don't mind talking."

David walked into the room, but it appeared that only Tanis noticed him. Claire sat on the table looking down at the journal that Tanis was writing. The old vampire didn't care much for technology and preferred to write using pen and paper.

Tanis gave David a quick glance, before looking back at Claire. "Yes, but you can't hide your memories from your own blood," Tanis pointed out as he gave her a mischievous smile. "That way I'll know the whole truth than the bare minimum that you want to tell me."

Claire opened her mouth, ready with her retort when David interrupted. "Claire," he said. She quickly turned and looked at him, giving him a smile. He motioned for her to come to him, and she nodded in agreement.

"You are lucky," she said to Tanis as she jumped off the table. "I was about to ramble about the perks of being me."

He waved his hand in the air, dismissing her comment. "It would appear so," he said with a sigh.

She jogged over to David and wrapped her arms around his left arm. "Where too?" she asked.

He eyed Tanis for a brief moment before smiling and looking down at her. "Away from here," he said as he ushered her out.

"You know," she said, after a few minutes. "He'll never risk turning me. No matter how much he wants to know what I know."

David nodded his head, despite the fact that he wasn't so sure about her statement. Better let her think that and let him worry about the other vampires.

"He fears you," she said.

He didn't answer her. She was growing frustrated. He could sense that, but he refused to look at her yet.

She quickened her pace and stopped in front of him, putting her hand on his chest. "David," she said softly as she searched his face. "Don't think I'm suddenly weak and frail and you have to protect me from everything," she said. "I'm still the same. And I can stand up and fight for myself."

"But you are weak," he said. "You are human." He knew that his eyes were blue and that his fangs were out, but she didn't understand. He could crush easily crush her. He gripped her arms as if enforce the fear on her. He half expected her to get angry. Instead, she pulled away, shaking her head.

"And you have to calm down!" she said as she firmly pressed her hands on his chest. "I am what I am, and I don't want to be anything else." She cocked her head. "Remember? People die around me. I rarely die around them."

For a joke it was rather weak, but it calmed him. He let out a sigh and nodded his head. "You are right," he said in defeat.

She giggled. "I know." She winked at him. "You must learn that women are almost always right. So best enjoy me while you can."

He leaned in closer to her. She took a step back until she hit the door behind her. "Can I?" he asked, placing his hand on it. He wanted her. There was no telling if Selene was going to talk to her about being bait. And if she did, there was no doubt in David's mind that Claire would agree. It was quite possible that he would lose her soon. He had to be with her now.

She looked up at him and he gently moved a strand of hair, which was on her face, behind her ear. She kissed him first. His heart jumped as her lips met his again. This was what he had wanted and craved for such a long time. Her tongue was the first to tease his lips, and soon his tongue met hers. He wanted to be in command, but he liked that she was giving him reasons to continue.

She pulled away. "You're room?" she asked quickly, looking around.

He smiled and nodded to the door she was against. She wrapped her arms around his neck again as he opened the door, allowing the two to stagger inside. He started to take off his jacket and felt her hands trying to help him, but at the same time she didn't want to stop kissing him.

Once one hand was free he ran it under her shirt, and up her back. He found the clasp to her bra and tried to unclasp it as her hand ran up his back. "I can't believe this," he muttered slightly, breaking the moment as he reached his other hand under her shirt. She giggled as she laid her head on his chest.

"Trouble?" she teased.

"If I wasn't afraid of hurting you, I would have torn it off," he muttered. "Finally!"

He could see the bra under her shirt and she smiled slyly as she put her hand into her sleeve and took off one strap. Then she grabbed the other strap and pulled out her bra. She did it so effortlessly, and he had trouble with the damn clasp.

He quickly took off his shirt before kissing her again. She jumped up on him, wrapping her legs around his waist. She slipped her shirt off then leaned in and kissed his shoulder. He fought his body's natural instant to bite her. He shuddered as her lips moved from his shoulder up to his neck, finally returning to his mouth. His senses were working on overtime. He could hear her heart pounding out of control. He could smell her sweet scent. Her thighs tightened as she squeezed him.

He wanted to get them on the bed. At least then she would be on something soft. His left knee banged into his nightstand and let out a grunt of disapproval. She giggled, causing him to growl and plop her on the bed. Her breathing was labored and he couldn't help but stare at her for a brief moment. At some point she had gotten rid of her pants. He spotted the scar that was just below her breasts. It looked to be about two inches long.

"You…" she started to say, but he shook his head. He wasn't going to ask her. Not now. That story was for another time. He was afraid if they stopped now they would get started again. Instead, he focused on finding what made her tick. She was going to be his now. And he had every intention of satisfying her.


	14. Bad News

_Sweet delicious air. David felt Claire take a deep breath as she was pulled out of the water. The men laughed at her. She looked down into the water and he saw her reflection. It was difficult to discern from the ripples in the water, but he could feel it in her. She had lost all hope._

_"She's heavier than she looks," one of the men grunted. He was the only one holding her now as his companion made his way back to shore._

_Claire was complete dead weight. She breathed shallowly and David wished he could will her to move. To fight back. But this was the past._

_The man dragged her back to shore and dumped her onto the sand. They laughed and David could clearly hear them making plans on what they were going to do to her. He didn't want to see more. Especially if they hurt her._

_She didn't care. She lay sprawled out and her fingers slowly dug into the sand. After all she had done, all she had gone through… She was being punished by God. There was no doubt in her mind about that. Her sins of disobeying her father, running away, and eloping._

_She gripped the sand tightly and then she heard it. The ground rumbled, but the men couldn't hear it. They weren't close enough. Horses!_

_"Help!" Claire screamed with all her might, surprising herself and the men. She quickly got to her feet and opened her mouth to scream again, but then gasped._

_A boy, no older than nine, stood in front of her, looking at her in horror. She looked down at his hands and realized that he had stabbed her. She wasn't sure why that stunned her. Did he kill her?_

_A man yelled as he jumped out from behind a bush. One of Claire's captures threw a knife, hitting her would-be-rescuer in the chest. She screamed, recognizing the man as her brother. That was the last straw. Her mind broke from everything that had just happened to her. She crumbled to the ground and stared up into the starry sky. _

_The sound of men screaming, fighting, and dying were in the distance as she slowly sang a lullaby. What did it matter? She had now lost two important people._

_"No!" a familiar voice shouted, bringing her back. "I'm here."_

_Her vision blurred as someone stood over her. He gently leaned down and picked up her._

_"You're safe now," he whispered. "I got you." Her brother's strong arms curled around her and she lost consciousness._

David's vision slowly cleared and he stared at the plain ceiling above him. The memory had come out of nowhere. Turning to his left, he stared at Claire. Her eyes were closed and she lay on her stomach. He leaned over and ran his fingers along her bare back, stopping for a brief second on the star shaped scar. The little boy must have been the cause of it. The scar from her chest to her back was probably caused by the small sword, as his height and the height of her scar were identical.

David gulped. Her husband, her brother, Alexander Corvinus, Sam. Claire was right. So many people had died around her. No wonder she was uncomfortable being close to anyone. But she wasn't the only one to have lost people. He had lost many during the Purge and after. His mother being one of the many who were killed.

She moved and opened her eyes. "Don't," she whispered as she turned to face him.

"What?" he asked, taking his hand away from her body.

"I don't like when people stare at me," she said. "I don't mind you touching me. Just don't stare at me."

He chuckled. "You don't want me to look at you while I touch you?" he teased. Then he closed his eyes and wandered his hand further.

She let out a yelp as he tickled her side and moved away. "I meant, don't stare at me while I'm sleeping. I find it creepy and it always wakes me up."

He smiled and nodded his head. She let out a loud sigh as she turned onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. He watched as her breasts rose up and down with each breath she took. He was slightly surprised to see that she hadn't been bruised, despite their rather desperate time together.

He had done his best to be gentle with her, but he had never been with a human before. She hadn't complained, nor given any indication that he had hurt her. But he couldn't help but wonder would she have if he did? He had a feeling that she wasn't one to complain about much, especially out loud. Still, he was a little relieved that he didn't see any bruises.

She cocked her head then leaned in and kissed him. "You're bad for me," she said, but smiled despite her statement. The blankets lay around her waist leaving her torso completely naked.

"Oh?" he asked as he rubbed her thigh.

She giggled. "Already?" she teased.

He grabbed her arms and pulled her on top of him. "You said to enjoy you while you last," he said, kissing her mouth. She eagerly returned his kisses.

"David?" she asked, finally breaking free.

"Yes?" he said as he kissed her again, and ran his hands up her legs. She sat on his chest and smiled as she looked down at him. Her naked body distracted him.

"I… Will you look at my face?" she huffed.

He chuckled. "Kind of hard to at the moment," he teased.

She grumbled as she lay down on top of him so that she was face to face with him. "Better?" she asked.

His hands ran over her body. "Almost," he whispered back.

She put a hand on his face and smiled. "I…"

"David!" Patrick shouted, throwing the door to his room open. Claire threw herself off of David and rolled the blankets around her. She was quick, but probably not quick enough.

"Patrick!" David snapped as he quickly sat up.

Patrick blushed a deep red and quickly turned around, scratching his head. "Sorry," he mumbled. "But Selene's asked me to get you. They found the lycan's hideout."

David quickly jumped out of bed and put on his pants. Behind him, he could hear Claire putting on her clothes. He wasn't going to tell her, at least not yet, but she wasn't going to join him in this mission. This was something that the hybrids were going to do. Still, he let her get dress and follow him.

Selene, Michael, Thomas, and other vampires hovered over a table. A laptop and map lay before them. On the screen was the image of one of their scouts. "Maybe five or six patrolling the outside," he said, sounding out of breath.

Selene gave a brief glance to David and Claire, before returning her attention to the map. David cocked his head and frowned. It was a picture of the old coven.

"They're there?" he asked in surprise.

The scout nodded. "Didn't stay long. Saw about five or six walking around the place. They had restored quite a bit of it. I wouldn't have gone there if I wasn't in a hurry to hide before daylight. We probably would have never found them. Didn't even think of going back to the old coven to search for them."

"Are you sure none of them followed you?" Selene asked. It sounded as if she had asked that question before.

The scout nodded his head vigorously. "The few outside didn't appear to be in their right minds. Wandered around almost aimlessly. And I doubled back a couple of times, just to make sure that no one was following me."

Selene looked at David. "Are you ready to come with me?" she asked him.

David nodded.

"Alright," she said. "David and I will go and see what else we can find."

"I'm going too," Michael chimed. Selene looked at him and opened her mouth to argue, but he shook his head. "Eve will be safe here, and we don't know how many hybrids they may have with them. I'm going." The determination in his face made her nod. He was stubborn like she was, and he did what he wanted.

David tensed, and waited for Claire to say the same words. Without looking at him, she reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it, before letting him go. "You might want to bring extra blood. Just in case any of you get bit," she said.

Selene nodded. "Let's go before it gets dark."

Thomas sighed but didn't protest. He walked over to his son and clasped his shoulder, giving him a small smile, before walking back to the table.

Claire touched David's face and kissed his cheek. "Come back, okay?" she asked.

He looked at her in surprise. He was prepared to fight her on going with him. And now that she hadn't even said anything he wasn't sure what to think.

"You don't…" he started to ask, but she interrupted him.

"Oh! I want to go. But I know you'll worry. As long as nothing drastic happens, I'll be waiting right here for you," she said with a smile.

"Planning for the worst?" he asked.

She stretched and let out a yawn. "For the best. I'm thinking I should get some rest. I have a feeling I won't be sleeping much the next few days." Her eyes danced with mischief. "And I have learned that making promises just don't work with me. I tend to break them. Not on purpose, but it happens."

He kissed her, making her smile. "I will return, I promise," he said.

It took them less than an hour to gather their weapons and get in the car. Selene drove and Michael sat beside her in the front seat. It took all of David's willpower not to look back as they drove away from the coven. He frowned as his heart started to race. Suddenly, he wanted Claire by his side like Michael was beside Selene. It seemed only right. He sighed. There was no going back now.

* * *

><p>Claire lay in her empty bed and waited. There was no telling when the three would return. Although, it was well past midnight and a little over eight hours since they had left. She had a feeling that they would be returning shortly. After all, it was clear that Selene only wanted to go there to spy. She wasn't entirely prepared to take on a hybrid force, even one as unstable as the lycans seemed to be. Still.<p>

Claire let out a loud sigh and got out of bed. It had been a long time since she had slept with anyone, and the thought of sharing a bed with David again excited her. She was ready to start another relationship. But that also scared her. She knew what she had to do. Secrets were never a good thing to keep, especially big ones. And now, if she did intend on staying with David for a while, she would have to come clean. It was only fair. And it would make decisions much easier to make. It wasn't like she wasn't going to tell him. If Selene hadn't interrupted their conversation she would have told him then and there. Selene and everyone would know, eventually. But she wanted David to know first.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose. It wasn't that she had lost her courage. It just seemed counterproductive, especially since they were in a hurry. Digging her hands into her pockets she headed toward Patrick's room. She hadn't checked her email in a while, and he was the only vampire she knew who had a computer.

"A word," Thomas asked, bringing Claire out of her thoughts.

"Yes, sir," she said with a nod.

For a moment, he was surprised by her politeness. He placed himself next to her and followed her stroll. "David is quite taken with you," he said.

She nodded.

"Do you love him?"

She stopped and blinked in surprise at his bluntness. "I…" she said then paused.

"It's a simple question, Miss Claire," he said, almost angrily.

She shook her head. "No, it's not," she said. "Love means."

He waved his hand in the air, interrupting her. "David is very fond of you," he said. "And in keeping with your silly idea of being human you are going to break his heart. But, it'll be harder if you were to become a vampire. Immortal like him, both of you will be able to live a long and full life together. If you stay human then you are making his life that much harder."

"Where is his mother?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Thomas took a step back in surprise then snarled as he revealed his fangs. "How dare you," he snapped.

"She was a vampire, wasn't she?" Claire continued, ignoring his anger. "And she's dead. Just because I'm immortal, doesn't mean I can't die. Yes, I can live for a long time, but something can still kill me. Just think of it this way. If I were immortal, you would have to see me for a very very long time. And hear my opinions, and my voice."

He raised his hands in the air. She had proven her point. Turning to leave he stopped and looked at her. "My son cares deeply for you," he said, almost too soft. "I don't want to see him get hurt at such a young age."

Claire breathed deeply and nodded her head. "Thomas," she said as he started to walk away. "I do care about him. And I don't want to hurt him. But I'm not going to change the way I live just for him. Don't worry about me. I've lived this long. I don't plan on dying anytime soon."

He snorted, shaking his head, before he stalked off. She watched him for a moment before she finished her walk.

She only had to turn the corner before she reached Patrick's room. She gave his door a quick knock before she walked in.

The young vampire jumped up and looked almost guiltily at her.

"I hope I didn't intrude," she teased. "I need to check my e-mail, if that's alright."

He nodded as he quickly clicked the mouse.

"Bye bye, baby," the computer said, before he took a step back.

She smiled as she sat down and opened up the internet, quickly logging into her email account. She frowned. "Do you have a pen and paper?"

"Umm," he said as he quickly pulled out a crumbled up piece of paper and handed it to her.

She quickly scribbled on the paper as she read the email. He looked over her shoulder and scanned what she was reading. It was a general email from an old friend of hers, telling her about their day. But there were over one hundred unread emails. He couldn't tell if they were spam or from people she knew. Probably spam.

"Do you have a phone?" Claire urgently asked.

He grabbed his cellphone and handed it to her. "You'll have to go up top to call," he muttered.

"Thanks," she said as she logged out of her email. Grabbing the paper and phone she rushed out of the room. It didn't take her long to get outside. She opened the paper and dialed the numbers that were on it. The phone didn't even ring before it was answered.

"_Claire?"_ the desperate female voice cried on the other side.

"Andrea, what's wrong?" Claire asked, trying to keep the panic at bay.

"_He's gone," _Andrea cried.

"What? What do you mean, he's gone?" Claire demanded.

"_He just left," _Andrea sobbed. "_And now he can be anywhere. What if they found him? Oh, my poor baby. Why would he leave?"_

"Andrea," Claire said forcefully. "Calm down and tell me what happened."

The woman on the other side took in a deep breath. "_We started to settle into the new home, and he found an old photo of you holding him with Brady next to you. He asked about you and Brady. I told him everything. And I… next morning I woke up and he was gone. Where have you been? I wrote you a bunch of emails. I didn't know how to get a hold of you. Where have you been?!"_

Claire rubbed her face as she thought. "Did he go back to his friend's house?"

"_I don't think so. I called his friend's mom, but she hasn't seen him. And neither has her son."_

Claire's mind raced with possible places he could have gone. Then it hit her. "Shit," she whispered. "He might have come here. Dammit!" She felt like throwing the phone, but she couldn't. "Andrea, I'm going to find him. Don't worry. He'll be safe. I promise you. I won't let _any _harm come to him. Understand?"

The woman on the other end sobbed in response. "_What if they have him, Claire? What if they're using him in one of their terrible experiments?"_

Claire shook in anger. "Then I will rip their skulls from their spines," she said in the coldest voice possible. "I'll call you when I have him." She didn't wait for a good-bye as she hit the end button. She breathed deeply as she clenched her hand that didn't hold the phone. The little brat. How dare he? She had risked so much and for him to risk his life.

She didn't waste another second thinking as she rushed into the coven. She grabbed a spare set of keys and went to one of the cars.

"Where are you going?" Eve demanded.

Claire quickly scribbled into the paper and ripped out what she had written, handing it to Eve. "I have to go. When your mom gets back give her this. Your 'cousin' ran off. I have to get him."

"You mean give David this?" Eve said, almost teasingly. But Claire was not in the mood. "I'll go with you," she said, suddenly realizing how serious Claire was.

"No!" Claire said, shaking her head. "Look. Your mother will kill me if I bring you with me. And I don't anticipate trouble. If there is, I can handle myself." She opened the driver's door then stopped and looked at Eve.

"If…" she started then paused. "If anything happens to me, Eve. And he comes back alone, please protect him. He's the last 'normal' person of the Corvinus line."

Eve nodded her head in acknowledgement. Claire didn't wait to say anymore as she jumped into the car and drove away. Once again her knuckles were white as she clenched her fists. Her emotions went from anger to fear. What if the lycans had him already? What if they were draining him this very second? What if?

She shook her head and concentrated on driving. He was fine. She was going to get to him before they did. And once they were safe, she was going to give him a spanking he would never forget.


	15. Jared

The sun was barely peeking out by the time Claire had reached the city. Being early morning, there were few cars, making it easy for her to see who was around. There was no telling how much the lycans knew. They had been waiting for her at the university library. She had no doubt that they were watching the apartment, no matter how many years it had been since she had last gone there. Sam didn't know the full story, but he sure as hell knew that she was paying to keep the place clean and hers.

She slowed the car and finally parked it in front of a tall apartment building. In an hour, the streets were going to fill with people going to work. It would have made it so much easier for her to slip into the crowd and disappear. But an hour was a very long time to wait. Still, her heart pounded rapidly in her chest.

She looked down at her hands and realized that they were shaking. Was she really that scared to enter the place? She shook her head and focused her attention. She hadn't stopped paying the rent to keep the apartment for a reason.

"You can do this," she whispered to herself, and unbuckled. Stepping out of the car, she took a deep breath before heading toward the building.

One resident of the building opened the door for her, and she nodded as she stepped inside. The elevator was at the far side, but an easy walk. She reached out to touch the elevator button, but the car dinged as the doors opened. Stepping back, she smiled as a couple made their way out into the street.

That was a good sign. No one else was inside, and she pressed the fourth floor button. The car took forever to close its doors and go up. She tried to occupy her mind. She could have taken the stairs, probably would have beaten the elevator up. But then she would have been tired, and there was a strong chance that she needed all of her energy now.

After what seemed like hours, the elevator doors opened on the fourth floor. She stepped out and cautiously looked around. The hallway was empty. She made her way down the left hall and stopped at the last apartment. She started to run her hand along the side of the door then frowned as her left hand easily turned the doorknob. The door silently opened, revealing an empty living room to her left and to her a right a kitchen.

She carefully walked inside and looked around. Nothing seemed to be out of place. It didn't appear that there was a struggle in the room. In fact, everything looked just the way she had left it. The maid she had hired to make sure that the apartment was always cleaned was faithful with her duties.

A bedroom door opened and a fifteen year old boy stepped out. He gasped in surprise when he spotted her and froze.

"Jared," she whispered as she closed and locked the door behind her.

He walked over to her, his eyes hard with anger. Then suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. "She said we would never see you again," he whispered. He was roughly her height, no longer a child, but still not a man. She blinked in surprise by this burst of emotion.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, hugging him back.

He shook his head, then pulled away. "Why didn't you tell me? Why you and not her?"

"What?" She was confused. She had no idea what he was talking about.

He pulled out a photo and shoved it into her face. "That you're my real mother!" he exclaimed.

She snatched the photo from his hands, shaking her head. At a glance, it did look that way. She sat in a wheelchair, holding him in her arms, he had just been born. She wore the hospital gown, and bracelet, and hugging her was Jared's father, Brady. "It's not what you think," she said.

"Then what is it?" he yelled. "There are no photos of you, my dad, my 'mother', or anyone else that's supposed to be in our family. And then I find this?"

Claire sighed as she motioned for him to sit in the kitchen. She sat down and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She was getting a headache. "Jared. I can't have children," she said firmly. "Your mother is your mother. That photo," she paused. "That day I was in the hospital for other reasons. After you were born your father insisted that I take a picture with you and him."

Jared frowned. "Why?" he asked.

She smiled at the memory. "Because we're family," she said. "And he knew how much I loved babies."

They were silent for a moment. Her eyes scanned his face as he looked down at the picture. Suddenly, he looked up at her.

"Will you show me where he died?"

She gulped, but nodded her head. "Come," she said, motioning for him to follow her.

She opened the first door to their right and walked into the room. Inside was an old crib. There used to be a window, but that was all boarded up now. The color slowly left her face as she remembered that night. "This is where your father died," she said, pointing to the ground next to the crib.

Jared's eyes widened with surprise. He clearly hadn't expected that, despite asking. He looked around then back at her. Her eyes were distant as she remembered that fateful day. She clenched the side of the crib and tensed her jaw before looking at him.

"He died to save your life. And I'm out here making sure that no one finds or knows about you," she said, dropping her voice as she looked at him. "Now, we have to go. I have to get you out of here."

He nodded as he quickly followed her out of the room. She closed the apartment door behind them, not bothering to lock it. There was nothing in there that was worth stealing. And, honestly, she needed to let go of the past. The dead were constantly haunting her and keeping her from moving on. Inwardly, she smiled. If only David knew. Thinking of him, she realized that she had been dwelling in the past. Living her life as she had done for years. But it was time to change. The world around her was different and she hadn't actually adapted despite thinking she had.

They walked quickly to the elevator, and she pressed the button as soon as they reached it.

"So," Jared said, finally breaking the silence. "You're not my mother?"

She looked at him, not immediately answering his question. He had clearly convinced himself that she was his mother. But why would he do that? "No," she said firmly, shaking her head. "I'm not your mother. Look. Once we're safe and sound I promise I will tell you everything. I will tell you everything that you want to know about your father, mother, me, and your ancestor Alexander Corvinus."

His eyes widened with surprise. "You promise?" he asked.

She nodded. "Under one condition."

"What?"

"When you find out everything you do exactly as I say and never ever try to find me again. You promise me that you will never take risks like this again and keep you and your mother safe."

He nodded his head eagerly. "I promise," he said, raising his hand in the air.

She let out a small smile then frowned. The hairs in the back of her neck stood up. Something was wrong. She pulled out her set of keys and handed them to him. "I have a car right outside this building," she said as she looked at the elevator. She could hear it climbing. "If anything happens to me, take the car and follow the map that I left there. Once you get there insist on talking to Eve, David, Michael or Selene. Those four will protect you. Tell them everything on how to help you get back to your mother."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"Because I don't know if you were followed, or if this apartment was being watched, or anything," she said, keeping her eyes on the elevator. "Don't deal with anyone but those four. If you need assurances, Eve is about thirteen or fourteen years old. So she's a child. The rest are adults, but the four are hybrids."

"I'm sorry," he whispered. Her sudden panic made him worry.

She sighed and stood up straighter, waving her hand in the air. "It would have happened sooner or later," she said.

They heard a "ding" as the elevator doors opened. Claire tensed ever so slightly then relaxed. It was empty. She let Jared enter before her and started to follow when she froze. The door to the stairs opened to her left and a man stepped out.

"Close the door," she whispered as she took a step back and fully faced the man. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw the elevator doors close.

"Brave but stupid," the man said as he smiled.

She didn't wait for him to say another word and sprinted down the hall, back to the apartment, with the lycan hybrid hot on her heels. She slammed her body into her apartment door and sprawled on the ground as the lycan jumped after her. He landed in the hallway and rolled onto his feet.

"Interesting," he said as he took in a deep breath and looked around. "So many interesting smells." He ignored her as she rushed toward a small end table and pulled out the top drawer. It was empty. He laughed. "Think we didn't know about this place and search it thoroughly?" he asked as he slowly made his way toward her. "To bad you're not a lycan. You would have smelled us all over here."

She didn't say a word as she watched him.

"Speechless?" he growled. "So, that boy's the one I want? It'll be easy to get him now that I know his smell."

"You'll never get him," she snapped.

He lunged at her, and she threw herself onto the ground, nearly dodging his attack. He laughed as she clutched her right hand against her shoulder, and raised his claw. Blood was on the end of his nails. He had scratched her.

"You are a fast one," he said. "But not…" He sniffed the air then his claw. She backed herself into the living room. "You..." he took in a deep breath then licked his claw. "You're a Corvinus!" He gasped at the realization, not expecting that turn of events. He laughed. "I had expected only one, but to think that you made yourself into a decoy to protect the boy? Is he even a Corvinus? Was it you I smelled all along."

She touched the glass door behind her, leading to the balcony. "You're right," she said. "He's not. He's just some stupid kid that I picked out to act as a decoy."

The man sniffed the air then smiled, shaking his head. "I had thought I had imagined it. You, in that SUV with Selene and her hybrids. I smelled you and you made me go crazy. I wanted to tear you apart. But I couldn't understand my emotions. So. You have Corvinus blood in you. And the others don't know do they? Not even your protect Sam. He didn't know. If he did he would have told me."

Her eyes widened. "You turned him into that hybrid," she accused.

He laughed. "Does it matter?" he asked. Suddenly, he lunged at her again. She threw herself across the room and he slammed into the glass door. He snarled in anger as the curtains wrapped around his body. With one mighty tug, he pulled the rod off the wall.

Claire reached under a small end table and pulled out a gun, aiming it at the lycan. Before she could fire, the lycan howled in pain and anger as his skin began to smoke. The sun! He jumped out into the shadows and breathed heavily with surprise. She didn't hesitate as she fired the weapon, hitting him in the chest, shoulders, and finally his forehead. He screamed in pain and anger, collapsing onto his knees. Then he looked up at her as his body slowly pushed the bullets out, and begun to change.

"That was a mistake!" he growled. Foam dripped from his mouth. His deformed body twitched as he tried to stand. She could see why it was so difficult for him. The burning from the sun must have triggered him to transform into a lycan, but at the same time he was trying to keep his human form. His confused brain wasn't sure what to do and so he was stuck between a human and lycan form.

"Shit," she hissed. She jumped to her feet and ran down the hall. There was no telling what kind of bacteria there was in his mouth, and she had no doubt that he would try to bite her. She closed and locked a door behind her, then pushed a dresser against it before looking around. The temporary barrier she had placed would only hold for a few seconds, maybe a minute at most. She was trapped. The only way to go was down, and that was a four story drop. She looked at the large glass pane window.

"I will get you, girl!" the man howled as he slammed into the door.

Claire rushed into the closet and pulled out two long gloves and some rope. Quickly, she put them on. The sound of the door breaking drew her attention. She only had one chance. She had to get outside and over the edge. She rushed toward the balcony door and reached for the handle when pain ran down her scalp. She screamed as the creature grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back.

"Where ya going?" he snarled as he wrapped his arm around her neck. She looked down at him as she grabbed his wrist.

"Let me go," she hissed, squeezing hard.

He screamed as he let her go. She fell to the ground then pushed her body toward the open hallway. If she made it out of the room then she had no problem.

"No!" he yelled as his claws ran down her back.

She cried out as he grabbed her waist and threw her back into the room. He had miscalculated his strength. She hit the balcony door with too much force, causing the glass to break around her. She could feel the glass digging into her body as she flew over the edge. The warm sun bathed her body, making her relax. Above her the lycan screamed as he jumped back away from the sun.

She looked up, expecting the lycan to follow after her. He was angry and he wanted her. Could the sun really stop him from jumping after her? He peered over the side then howled before covering his face with his hands and going back into the apartment. Well, that was a new development. Could this new lycan weakness affect all the other hybrids? That was the last question that went through her mind as she slammed into the ground. The force caused her to lose consciousness.

* * *

><p>"Aunt Claire!" Jared yelled, pushing at her body. She wanted to punch the boy for waking her up. For once, her mind was actually silent.<p>

Her eyes snapped opened and she moaned as she tried to get up. That was a mistake. Her entire body protested any movement. "How lo..." she tried to say, but the pain prevented her from continuing.

Then she remembered. She had been thrown out of her old apartment. She could hear people shouting in the background. "Go," she hissed.

Jared wrapped his left arm around her waist, helping her to her feet. People were yelling at the two of them, but she motioned for him to continue walking. Her eyes focused on her car then her heart sank. Two men waited near the car. There was no doubt in her mind that they were lycans. She tried to think of a new plan of action, but her brain was busy telling her that she was in pain.

"Claire!" David's all too familiar voice shouted. She felt a strong hand grab her arm and nearly screamed in pain.

Her head whipped up and she immediately recognized David. He rushed the two toward a waiting SUV. Claire forced Jared to sit in the middle then sat beside him. If they were attacked then the lycans would have to get her or David before they could get Jared.

She barely sat in the car before it took off again.

"What were you thinking?" David said in anger.

She blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected him to be angry. She thought he would be fearful or sad. She leaned back to look at him. He hadn't seen it. He didn't know that she feel down four stories. Did the injuries of her fight with the lycan not show? She looked down at her body. She was bleeding, she could feel it. But it hadn't shown yet. Someone had placed a jacket over her shoulders, shielding the very obvious wounds. But he would soon know. He would soon smell the blood.

"Leave her alone!" Jared quickly defended.

"Quiet, boy," Selene snapped. She was driving the car. She looked back at Claire, her mouth open and ready to chastise the woman, but no words came out. Instead, she turned and focused on driving again. Claire felt the car start to pick up speed and almost smiled.

David leaned off the edge of the seat to look at Claire. She smiled weakly at him and tried to wave her hand. "I had to rescue him," she said. She let out a laugh that turned into a painful cough then gasped.

"What happened?" David asked in concern as he pushed Jared back and looked at her. He started to reach toward her then pulled back, almost afraid to touch her.

"David," she said softly. For some reason, there was less pain. Her body's natural instinct was to fall asleep, and she was currently fighting that. "Jared. He's..." It was hard for her to breathe, much less talk.

Jared looked at her in horror. "I'm sorry. Aunt Claire, please don't die," he said.

She gulped and focused all of her energy. "People die around me," she said as quickly as she could. "I don't die around them." She winced again and pulled her hand from her side, revealing more blood.

Michael turned around and looked at her. "Oh no," he said. "David, you need to keep her awake. Claire, don't go to sleep. Selene, we have to get medical help."

"Claire," David said as he tried to move Jared to the other side, but she shook her head.

"Pro... protect him," she commanded.

"I'll be fine," Jared said, trying to comfort her.

She coughed in pain and spit out blood.

"Oh shit," David said. He moved his hands back and forth in an attempt to figure out what to do. Touch her, don't touch her.

She stared ahead and focused on the back of Michael's chair.

"Keep her awake," Michael commanded as he looked back.

"I'm sorry, Claire," Jared whispered as tears streamed down his face. He shook his head. "It's all my fault."

"I'll be fine, Jared," she said, trying to pat his leg then winced. Her right shoulder was on fire and bleeding from the lycan's attack. But she couldn't feel the wound on her side when he threw her out the glass door.

David suddenly noticed the wound and took off his shirt. "Put this on her shoulder," he told Jared. "Stay with us, Claire."

She gasped when the boy pressed the shirt against her wound. Then she let out a weak smile to David. "What did you find?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No one was around. They must have known we were coming. Claire..." He leaned in closer. He wanted to hold her, but he couldn't.

She smiled but leaned away from him and closer to the window as she felt the sun on her cheek. Slowly, her body began to try to repair the damage. She couldn't fight the sleep that her mind was demanding of her. She could hear David and Jared faintly calling her name. But it was no use. Her body's natural instinct had won.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks guys for the reviews. The next few chapters should be coming a little bit faster. I'm nearing the end of this story. "Say what?" Yeah. It kind of surprised me to. But, I think it's for the best. Oh, fate is so cruel.**


	16. To Live and to Die

David paced back and forth in the little meeting room. It should have taken them six hours to get back to the coven, but Selene had somehow cut it down to four. Jared sat in a chair in the corner quietly talking with Eve. Within the three short hours that they had been in the coven Jared and Eve had gotten quite close. David hadn't bothered to hear their conversation, but he could tell that Jared was telling Eve what he knew.

There had been a brief discussion as to whether they should drop Claire in a hospital or not. The only major problem was that lycans were after her. And there was no doubt that the lycans were getting desperate. Desperate lycans meant bloody messes all around. And Michael had been a doctor once. He made it clear that he couldn't promise that Claire would live. But he could promise that he would do all he could.

Three hours later, and Michael was still working on Claire. Her injuries were far worse than David had thought. Not only had Michael found glass in her body, and a nasty long gash from a lycan's claw on her back, but she had also apparently fallen four stories and landed on her back. By that account alone, she should have been dead. And to top it all off, they had handled her completely wrong, and yet she was still living. But for how long? She hadn't even let on that she was that injured. And Jared was in too much shock to explain.

David gave Jared a quick glance again. She had risked her very life to save the boy. Whatever Claire's fate was David was going to protect the boy. It was clear that Jared was absolutely upset by what had just happened. He had yet to say much except that it was all his fault and he should have stayed home. David couldn't help but agree with that sentiment. But, Jared had come, and now Claire was dying. And no one had a time machine to go back and change things.

"You can always turn her," Thomas's voice echoed softly in the room.

"No!" Jared yelled as he jumped to his feet, shaking his head vigorously. Eve had been crouching next to him and stood up when he did. "She wouldn't want that. You can't do that to her."

"Silence, boy!" Thomas hissed. "You lost your right to speak due to your stupidness."

Jared didn't say a word, but stood his ground and glared at the old vampire. David looked at Jared, at his father, then back at Jared again. Well, the boy had balls. He frowned. The boy reminded him a little of Claire; the stubbornness and showing no fear even to one who could easily snap his neck. No, not a little. A lot.

"We're not turning her," David stated.

Jared let out a sigh of relief as he sat back down in the chair. That was one good thing. Claire had evidently made sure to tell the boy to trust David, Selene, Michael and Eve. Jared made sure that he was in clear view of either of the four.

"What we need to focus on is where have the lycans gone," Selene said, once again turning her attention to the map that was on the table. "David, she is in good hands." The last bit she said quietly.

He stared at the map, but the lines and terrain blurred before him. He still couldn't concentrate. His mind wouldn't let him. He looked up, sensing Michael before actually seeing the man.

Michael smiled softly and nodded his head. "I think she's going to make it," he said. His clothes were covered in blood. Evidently, once he realized the good news he didn't bother cleaning up or changing.

"Thank you," David said.

"You should change," Selene told Michael, and he nodded. "Can you focus now, David?" she asked, turning her attention to him.

He nodded his head as his mind slowly calmed down. Yes, now that she was most likely going to make it he could focus on the bigger task on hand.

"Can I call my mother now? She must be really worried," Jared said

* * *

><p>Patrick grumbled to himself as another one of his prepaid cellphones was taken away from him. He was the only vampire in the entire coven who embraced technology. Which meant that he spent a good majority of his time alone. But now more people had come in and out of his room than he cared for. Well, he didn't mind the company. It was the using that he didn't like. They weren't there to see him, but to take something from him or get him to do something for them.<p>

He continued to grumble to himself as he opened one of the last unviewed video that was left on Detective Anderson's hard drive. He had no hopes. All the other videos that he had viewed showed brief glimpses or were home videos of the other decoys. He perked up when he realized that the video was one of Claire. He caught a glimpse of the video's date then his frown deepened. It wasn't completely impossible, but... He skipped ahead a little.

"Oh my god," he whispered as he stood up. He ransacked his desk, looking for a USB. He had to show everyone. He couldn't tell them, they wouldn't believe him.

* * *

><p>Jared slowly rubbed his hands together. He wasn't cold. He was worried. He hadn't been around so many immortal creatures in his entire life. Growing up, his mother and his Aunt Claire had both stressed the need to keep away from vampires and lycans. And yet here he was, deep in the pits of a vampire coven. With no one to save him.<p>

How could he have been so stupid? Of course she wasn't his mother. If she was why would she leave him in the care of someone else? But, seeing that picture had almost convinced him. That and the fact that his mother avoided most questions pertaining to Claire in particular. For some odd reason that also meant she avoided most stories that dealt with his father as well.

Jared sat up straighter and listened as the vampires huddled around a table and discussed their options. Eve had gone to get him some food. She had asked him to go with her, but he was afraid. She was younger than him, and it was difficult for him to imagine that she could hurt any of the vampires. No, he would rather stay in the view of David.

It was clear to Jared that the vampire hybrid male had the hots for his Aunt. And who wouldn't? She was lovely. And Jared was going to exploit those feelings. Get out of the coven and get to his mother. She would know what to do after that. After all, there was no telling when or if Claire would wake up.

Jared fiddled with the cellphone that they had taken from Patrick. David had promised to go up to the surface with him, but only after they set up their plans. Apparently, the war between the vampires and lycans had started up again. Looking at everyone in the room, Jared could sense their urgency and even a little fear from some.

"Selene! David!" Patrick shouted as he ran into the room. It was strange that he seemed so out of breath. He waved a tiny USB in his hand before setting down a laptop and plugging it in.

"Patrick," Selene said, sounding annoyed. "We…"

"You have to see this!" Patrick interrupted her. It didn't take him long to locate the exact video and start it up.

Jared frowned as he cautiously walked over to the screen. He wanted to know what made the vampire so emotional. The sound of a baby crying caught his attention.

"Hold on," Patrick said as he went to move the video forward.

"No! Stop!" Jared yelled pushing the vampire to one side.

Patrick snarled at him in anger, but he didn't care.

"That's my father," Jared whispered, recognizing the man that was in the corner of the video.

Someone must have stopped the vampire from doing anything else, as Jared felt the group slowly move away. They were still watching the video intently, but they were giving him some space. He let out a soft sigh.

The video itself was a bit grainy. Obviously had been footage from a security camera. But at least there was sound. Claire stood in the middle of the nursery, the one that Jared had just been to. In her arms was a baby, which he assumed was himself. She rocked him back and forth as she sang a soft lullaby. Behind her stood his father. The man leaned against the door with his arms across his chest.

_"And how did things go with the old geezer?" Brady asked as he walked over._

_"He practically raises you and that's what you call him?" Claire demanded. Despite her harsh tone, her body language read that she was relaxed._

_Brady shook his head. "He didn't raise me," he said, taking the baby out of Claire's arms. "But what did he think about his extremely great grandson?"_

_Whatever Claire said it was inaudible. But it made both parents laugh. _

_"And did he send us money?" Brady asked._

_"Brady?!" Andrea said, sounding completely horrified._

_"What?" Brady asked with all the innocence that he could muster. "He's rich. He can afford to give us a descent present for continuing his line."_

_"If he heard what you were saying right now I doubt he would want to," Andrea huffed. "You're sounding like a brat."_

_Brady laughed, shaking his head. "Claire won't tell on me." He laughed again before kissing his son._

_"I thought you two wouldn't be back until tomorrow," Claire said, changing the subject._

_Andrea let out a sigh. "We weren't, but Brady missed his son too much."_

_"There is nothing wrong with loving one's son," Brady said, walking over to his wife. He kissed her and then pulled away._

_"And I love that you love him," she said. "But it's nice to have a day or two to ourselves. Think Claire is always going to be able to babysit for us?"_

_Brady looked at Claire and seemed to size her up. "Remember when I asked you to marry me and we eloped? And I had bought those tickets to go to Brazil, but you had that dog? What was it called."_

_"Squicker," Claire said._

_Andrea laughed._

_"I called Claire and she babysat the dog for us. If she can take time out to babysit your dog then she'll be there for our kid. She'll always be here when we need her," he stated._

_Claire laughed and motioned for Andrea to follow her. "He's right. But enough about that. I brought gifts," she said before walking out of the room._

_"Ha!" Brady shouted as the two women walked out of the room._

_He shook his head before looking down at his son. "If there's one thing you should always remember," he said. "Aunt Claire will always be around to protect you. And we're filthy rich. You can use those two facts to your advantage when you're older. I'll remind ya." Baby Jared started to choke and cry, causing his father to rock a little faster. "Shhhh," he said almost desperately. "Maybe we should have stayed away another day."_

_He placed the baby into the crib and slowly sang the lullaby that Claire had been singing._

Jared stared at the laptop screen as he watched his father sing. He clenched his fists. If Claire died then all her knowledge about his father would be gone. Claire knew so much. Much more than he had thought. It was time. As soon as she was well enough he would demand to know everything.

But what if she never got well? What if she died? Suddenly, the thought of having her turned into a hybrid or even vampire didn't seem too bad to him anymore. At least then he would be able to know everything.

The sounds of dishes crashing brought Jared out of the video. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something coming at him. The world around him seemed to slow down as the vampires rushed toward him, but they were too far away. No one could save him. The female vampire smiled menacingly at her triumph as he was forced to the ground.

* * *

><p>Elizabeth walked casually through the coven. No one seemed to notice or care as she passed them. They were all too preoccupied with their latest piece of gossip. A hybrid named David was in love with a dying human and refused to turn her. That was the most important news for them. She had overheard someone talk about a human boy in the coven, but the gossipers didn't care about the boy for the moment. And that boy was the one she wanted. There was no doubt in her mind that he was the last human Corvinus.<p>

Pain shot up through her abdomen and she groaned as she leaned against the wall. Luke had done it. He had killed her. She could already feel her body slowly falling apart from the inside out. He had injected her with the virus that she had created for his lycans, effectively overdosing her. She had escaped, although barely, and just hoped that she would be able to take out the last descendent. After all, none of them knew that she was the bad guy.

And Luke would come to her, following her scent, and either kill or be killed by the hybrids. It didn't matter to her anymore. As long as she got this single human. She had to kill him. It was the last way she could get back at her father. After all, her father had been so careful, creating an elaborate decoy scheme to save this boy. Why hadn't he done that for her? Why hadn't he told her that he was still around? She was his own child, flesh and blood, and he didn't bother to inform her that he still lived.

She clenched her hands at the thought then let out a smirk. If there was such a thing as an afterlife she would rub this in his face. Another of his many failures. He had failed in protecting his sons, allowing them to turn into monsters. He had failed her in allowing the creatures that his sons could make to turn her into one of them. He had failed her little sister by allowing her to elope and then get killed by bandits. Adam was the only one of all the siblings to live a peaceful life. But now his last descendent was a hybrid. So, why let this human boy, descendent of her sister, survive?

Elizabeth's thoughts were interrupted when she smelled something. She stopped in front of the little meeting room and almost shouted for joy. No one was looking at her, or seemed to notice that she was there. The human boy was easily accessible to her. She savored the moment as she walked over to the boy. She felt as if her body was moving in slow motion as she had each and every movement ingrained into her memory. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the little hybrid girl drop a plate full of food. Too bad. No one, not even this hybrid, would be able to stop her. No one was fast enough.

Someone screamed and the boy turned and stared at her wide eyed. He reminded her of someone from her past. The hybrids started to rush at her, but they all knew that they were too late. The sound of bones breaking brought joy to Elizabeth's face. Then she was flying through the air.

* * *

><p>Chills ran down David's spine as Jared collapsed onto the ground and looked up in horror at Claire. It had been Elizabeth all along. The woman had nearly killed Jared and would have had Claire not grabbed her outstretched hand and thrown her back. He felt like such a failure. He had had Jared under his care for only a few hours and nearly let the boy die.<p>

David looked at Claire and his heart sank. He had heard the sounds of bones breaking as she broke Elizabeth's wrist. And she had thrown Elizabeth back into the hallway. Her strength and speed could only mean one thing. She was a vampire. She couldn't have been a lycan. They had found no bite marks on her, and scratches didn't make lycans. And now that she was a vampire, David knew he would never see her again.

Claire dropped to a knee before forcing her body to stand again. The blood soaked through her bandages and her body trembled ever so slightly. She was still pretty weak. "Not while I'm alive!" she screamed in anger. Her face was incredibly pale. She looked as if she were about to lose consciousness.

David rushed over to her side. He wanted to grab her, but he was afraid of hurting her. If she did collapse, then he would be there to hold her.

Elizabeth roared as she jumped to her feet. Her long hair covered her face. "You will not stop _me!_" she yelled back as her wings popped out of her back.

Claire stood her ground, showing no fear.

Elizabeth looked up. Her teeth were sharp and her eyes black. She didn't seem to notice that she was foaming at the mouth. He could feel the anger and hate coming from her. Then suddenly, her face returned to normal as she gasped. "Mama?" she asked in surprise.

David couldn't help but back up at that. He quickly glanced at Claire and she looked just as surprised and horrified.

"What?" Claire nearly shrieked as she took a step back. "No!"

_"Claire!"_ Jared's father screamed in the forgotten video.

Jared looked back, just in time to see Marcus snap his father's neck. The room went silent as the rest of the event played out.

_"No!" Claire screamed as she ran into the room. Marcus grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the wall._

_"What have we here?" he asked as he cocked his head. "Another one of my father's human lackeys?"_

_"Marcus," she gasped. Suddenly, Marcus screamed in pain and jumped back, letting Claire go. She rushed over to Brady's side. "Marcus!" Claire screamed as she grabbed Brady. "What have you done?"_

_He looked at his hand then down to her as she held the body and glared up at him. "Klara?!" he asked._

"Shut it off!" Claire demanded, not breaking her focus from Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's eyes widened after hearing that. "Klara?" she asked.

Claire's breathing deepened as she slowly nodded.

Elizabeth fell to one knee, still gaping at Claire. "You… you… you're dead. Marcus said you died," she accused.

"What the hell is going on?" Thomas snapped.

David looked at Elizabeth then to Claire then back to Elizabeth. His mind was refusing to see the obvious truth. Someone had to say it. Someone had to say it before he could believe it.

"He… he… he said he held you in his arms and…" Elizabeth sputtered, shaking her head. She clearly couldn't believe it either. "You're dead! Klara?! If you… why… You… and father? "

"Erzsebet," Claire's tone suddenly changed. It sounded as if her heart was breaking. David looked at Claire and clearly was the pain that was in her now bright yellow eyes. He wanted to hold her. To tell her that everything would be alright.

Elizabeth cried out and doubled over. The muscles in her body moved in an unnatural way. She screamed as she started to fall to the ground, only to be caught by Claire. Claire wrapped her arms around her sister and slowly sank to the ground.

Elizabeth breathed deeply. "Am I dreaming?" she asked.

Claire shook her head. "Naw," she said, almost teasingly. "I'm a little too real and too modern. I'm sorry, Erie. I wanted to tell you and Marcus that I was alive, but father forbade it."

David felt like hitting himself. How did he not see it before? He had met Elizabeth before. He knew what she looked like. Seeing both women together, it was obvious that they were related. The little details slowly fell into place. He should have known from the moment she touched him. When she was trying to escape she had pushed him down the stairs. He had felt her strength and power then, but had assumed that it was just her adrenaline. The werewolves attacking them, and her being unharmed. She had made up lame excuses, but he had allowed himself to believe them. And her knowledge. When she would talk about Alexander she had so much love in her voice. She knew and said things about Alexander that was more personal.

"Are you a?" Elizabeth couldn't continue.

Claire chuckled, shaking her head. "Vampire? Lycan? No. I'm neither." She answered.

"But…"

Claire let out a small sigh. "I'm immortal, Erie. Just like father. That night Marcus and William saved me. When they had gained their immortal powers so did I. One moment I was dying the next I was alive and well. But father was afraid people would have burned me as a witch. Or thought I had sold my soul to the devil."

Elizabeth coughed and groaned before casting a desperate glance over at Jared. "Your descendent," she gasped. "You…"

Claire adamantly shook her head. "He's not mine, Erie," she said. "He's yours."

"That's impossible!" Elizabeth's eyes seemed to scan every inch of Jared's body. He resisted the urge to cross his arms. "I killed them. I killed them all!"

"I saved them," Claire softly replied. "Look at him. Reminds me a little bit of Paul," she said with a faint smile.

Elizabeth's eyes widened as if she saw what Claire was talking about. Jared couldn't help but get closer to the two sisters. Immediately, Claire's hand tensed around Elizabeth's shoulder and she shook her head.

"Step back, Jared," she commanded.

He was surprised by that, but obeyed her.

Elizabeth gave him one last glance before focusing on Claire. "I'm dying," she said.

Claire swallowed and nodded. "I can tell. What were you thinking Erie?" she asked.

Elizabeth snorted. "Don't try to play mother to me, Klara," she snapped. Despite her harsh tone she reached up her hand and touched Claire's face. "Although, you look a lot like mama," she said.

Claire sighed and nodded her head. "So father would tell me."

Elizabeth screamed in pain as she arched her back.

"Is there anything we can do?" David said. He knelt next to the two sisters and looked down at Elizabeth in earnest. He felt Claire look at him, but didn't return her gaze.

"Why?" Elizabeth asked. "After all…"

"You're Claire's sister," he said. "If you had known…"

Elizabeth laughed, interrupting his sentence. "I would have been far more careful with my plans." She looked at David then at Claire. "He has at least twenty-five hybrids with him. But the whole process is incomplete. He is the only one who is the closest to being a true hybrid. He'll come here, following my scent. I…" she coughed, "I don't think he can make anymore. But best if you burn their bodies."

"Let them come," Claire said.

Elizabeth let out a painful chuckle. "Don't underestimate him," she said.

"We've handled real hybrids before," Selene spoke up.

"But only two," Elizabeth pointed out.

Selene crossed her arms. "Those things aren't hybrids. They're a mess of what lycans they used to be."

Elizabeth glared at Selene before nodding. "I know. But they only needed to be strong enough to kill you." She cried out again and clutched at Claire's shirt.

"Anything I can do?" Claire asked in despair.

Elizabeth muttered something in a foreign language, causing Claire to quietly reply back to her. David could clearly hear Elizabeth's heart beat slowly, but steadily. Claire took in a shaky breath before she let out low hum. Her voice was low as she sang the lullaby that she had sung in the video.

Elizabeth smiled and closed her eyes. Despite what she had done Claire didn't seem to care. David looked up at Claire who kept her eyes on her sister. Although he wanted to hear Claire his ears for some reason focused on Elizabeth's beating heart. It was slow, but still steady and then, it stopped. Claire must have heard it as well as she let out a sob and brought her sister up to her, hugging her tightly. "I love you, Erie," she whispered.


	17. Final Battle

David made his way up to the surface to Claire or Klara. He wasn't exactly sure which to call her; at least both names were similar. But they hadn't had time to talk. His many questions were still unanswered.

Not even a half hour had passed since Elizabeth had died, before Claire disappeared. Except, this time she told everyone where she was going. She took a small time to place her sister's body on a bed before grabbing Jared and heading to the surface. She made sure to tell them that she believed the lycans wouldn't attack till night. And then she was gone.

David wasn't sure if she wanted him to follow her or not. He still wasn't sure how he felt about the situation. On the one hand, he was ecstatic that she was immortal. It meant that he didn't have to worry about her dying of old age. Maybe major injury, but even that she had proven so far she could heal from. On the other, it frightened and angered him a little. He was angry that she hadn't told him. She had time to tell him, but she hadn't. Then again, maybe that was what she had been trying to tell him, but they kept on getting interrupted. And the fear. Well, he was afraid that she would look at him as if he were still a youngling. She was older than anyone he knew. Now that she didn't have to pretend anymore, would she act like she was better, or use the maturity card every chance she got? He felt as if he no longer knew her.

The sun was slowly setting as he made his way outside. Claire had her hands on the rails as she watched the setting sun, clearly oblivious to the water below her. Jared sat as far away from the edge as possible. David couldn't help but be amused by that. Whether the boy was afraid of heights or water it didn't matter. His demeanor reminded him a little bit of Claire.

"Afraid I ran away?" Claire asked, turning her head slightly to look at David.

Jared looked surprised, since he didn't hear the vampire-hybrid enter.

"No," David said. "The thought hadn't crossed my mind."

She smiled. "It might just be me, but I've always felt that my wounds heal faster with the sunlight," she answered the question he didn't ask. He was curious as to why she was quick to go outside, but that question had become lost in the sea of other questions.

"Oh," he said softly, placing himself near her, but still with space between them.

Her hands clenched the rail harder, but she didn't say a word. A breeze passed by them, and he saw her skin rise from the chill.

"Can we go in now?" Jared muttered. "I'm cold and getting hungry."

Claire closed her eyes and let out a sigh before turning to look at her ward.

"Oh good," Michael said, before Claire could say a word. The three looked at the first hybrid as he stood next to the door. "I was wondering if you were getting hungry," he spoke to Jared. "Don't worry. I'll keep him safe if you feel like staying out here longer."

Claire gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Michael," she said before turning back to look at the sky.

Michael nodded to David before closing the door behind him.

The door barely closed before David felt Claire grab his hand. He looked down at her and was shocked to see fear in her eyes.

"I was going to tell you," Claire said, wrapping her two hands around his one hand. She kissed his hand then let him go, sighing deeply. "But it was hard at first. When we first met. I thought that maybe I wouldn't have to say anything. Let you protect me for a little while till I figured out who was after me and either you or I destroy them. Then I would disappear. I was afraid you were starting to put two and two together. Especially when I gave you that password. A-H-M-W-E-K-A-4-7-1-C."

He frowned. He hadn't thought about that. "What does it mean?"

"Alexander, Helena, Marcus, William, Erzsebet, Klara, Adam. 471C is either the day my dad met my mom, he found out he was immortal, or Marcus and William were born. But you didn't seem to put the letters together and I thought I was safe. And then… I realized I had fallen for you. I couldn't show you at first. I was struggling between listening to my father's command and my heart. And then you and I…" She blushed and stepped away. "I knew then that I had to tell you. You worked so hard protecting me, and I worked so hard pretending that I needed protection. I've lived my entire life keeping secrets from everyone because my father told me to. Not even Sam knew who I was. I think he suspected something, but he didn't know I was immortal." She shook her head.

David watched her, but she didn't look at him.

"Then I decided that enough was enough. I was still trying to live my life as if in fear of what my father would say to me. Why shouldn't I tell you?" She finally looked at him and stepped closer. "But I wanted to tell you when we had time to talk. I wanted to tell you everything from beginning to end. I was going to. But then I found out about Jared being here." She shook her head and then let out a soft chuckle. "Trust me when I say that I didn't intend to get severely injured. And if I hadn't I would have told you. The second that I saw you I was going to tell you. But I couldn't."

"That's why you didn't want me to turn you," he finally said. "You knew that you would be fine." He frowned. "Can you be turned?"

She rubbed her chin for a minute. "I'm not exactly sure," she finally said. "I've never been bitten by either species. It's quite possible that nothing will happen. Or I could become a creature superior and possibly deadlier. You saw what happened to William. Father was afraid that if either of us were bitten then we could become a force that no one could stop, effectively annihilating humanity."

He looked skeptical. "Humans are very resourceful creatures."

She smiled at that. "But that's not why I told you not to turn me," she said.

He blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected that.

"I'm already immortal. Nothing worse can come from being bitten by vampire or lycan. I asked you not to turn me because I wanted to see if you would respect my wish. And you did. You didn't know I was immortal, and you honored my wish. Even though you believed I was dying."

He couldn't keep his hands to himself anymore. Wrapping his arms around her waist he pulled her toward him and kissed her. "You're immortal," he whispered, placing his forehead against hers. She placed her hands on his face and kissed him again.

"Yes I am," she replied.

He kissed her again, this time with far more passion. She was his. There was no doubt in his mind now that the two would be together for a very long time. She eagerly returned his kisses as if trying to reassure him that she was his. Suddenly, she forced her hand in between them and pushed back.

"David?" she asked, gasping for breath.

His chest heaved and he felt a little disappointed and yet relieved. "Yes?"

"I… I don't want you to call me Klara," she said, surprising him. "It's the name that I was given at my birth, and the one my family called me, but… they're all dead. Everyone who knew me as Klara are no more. And, although I have no wish to join them, I want that name to die with them. I still love them all, no matter what they did. And I don't wish that I never became immortal. I just like how you say Claire." She looked at him and smiled.

He grabbed her and pulled her to him, kissing her on the mouth. He pulled away and smiled at her. "Claire," he whispered.

She wrapped her arms around his body and hugged him, burying her face in his chest. He heard her let out a content sigh and slowly combed her hair with his fingers. "You still have a lot of explaining to do," he finally said.

She laughed and pulled away, nodding her head. "As much as I want to tell you everything, I think we better go inside and get ready. The lycan's aren't going to wait for me to explain. Don't want us to get caught with our pants down."

He laughed at that. "No, we wouldn't," he breathed into her hair. He placed his arm over her shoulder as they walked back inside. "I never thought I would be the one dating an older woman," he teased.

She jabbed her elbow in his side, but smiled. "I'm not that old."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, technically I'm old. But mentally I'm not that old. I learned to do what my brother did and slept a century or two at a time. I guess I still am older than you either way."

"You will be joining us in the fight this time?" Selene asked, interrupting their conversation.

Claire nodded. "Well, I've already been outed. Besides, those bastards tried to kill me. I'm of better use killing them then sitting around and doing nothing."

Selene nodded. "Eve and Jared will be in her room. There is a hidden passageway leading out in her room, Claire. If it appears that we are losing she will take Jared and protect him."

"We won't lose," Claire said. "You have me."

"Three hybrids, an original immortal and a bunch of vampires versus at least twenty-five supposedly half complete lycan hybrids," Thomas mumbled. The three hadn't realized that he was behind them.

"My sister said they weren't complete. She may have wanted everyone dead, but she wouldn't have lied to me about that," Claire said.

"Are you sure?" Selene asked.

Claire nodded. "She wouldn't lie to me, even if she was angry."

Selene was silent before pointing to a door. "Weapons are in there. Almost everyone is ready."

Claire and David headed into the room and opened the door. There were only a few weapons on the table. She immediately picked up a scabbard and withdrew the sword, carefully examining it. "Oh, they are in for it," she said shaking her head. "You have no idea how hard it is to move and act normal. And now that I can do let myself go?" She snorted, making him laugh.

He put his weapon down and pulled her toward him. "Think we'll win?" he asked.

"Think we won't?" Her eyes searched his, but there was a hint of mischief in her voice.

He leaned in closer to kiss her, but she pulled away.

"Nope," she said, shaking her head. "I'll only kiss you when we win. Give you some incentive."

His eyes narrowed and he prepared himself to say something when they heard a loud scream. Claire grabbed him and kissed him deeply, surprising him.

"We will win," she told him. "But just in case."

He kissed her once more before pulling away. The two grabbed their weapons and rushed out of the door.

Howls, gun fire, and screams filled the air as the vampires and lycan hybrids went head to head. "I'm going to Selene," he said. Although he wanted to be near Claire, he also wanted to be where the bulk of their enemies was at. Elizabeth knew the layout of their coven. There was no doubt that some of the lycans would use the hidden passages, but there was also no doubt in his mind that the majority would come from one way. He wanted to kill as many as he could leaving little to no enemy left to harm Claire.

He spotted Selene who pinned a lycan down and shot it in the head. She looked up at him, shaking her head. "Not only hybrids," she said. "They've brought other lycans as well."

A lycan jumped out at her and she flipped in the air as David shot the beast dead. The two rushed toward the fighting. Michael had wasted no time going into his hybrid form. He was already taking on two lycans at a time, having killed at least one. Selene shot at a lycan from the other side before attacking a hybrid.

David rushed at another hybrid and pulled out its throat before it could do anything. Two hybrids rushed in with four lycans, trying to overrun them. Six vampires rushed at the six lycans. Four were immediately killed by the hybrids.

"Focus on the lycans!" David yelled. "We'll get the hybrids." He lunged at a hybrid and spun in the air, feeling the creature's claws slice his side. He wrapped his arm around the beast's neck and quickly snapped it.

He stood up and looked around. More lycans attacked them, but something seemed off to him. They were almost throwing themselves to be slaughtered.

"David! Go!" Selene yelled. She had the same thought that he did. These were the diversion. Which meant that Claire was handling the more powerful hybrids on her own.

There were still too many hybrids coming with the main lycan group for anyone else to leave. Michael struggled against another two and Selene quickly rushed to his rescue.

"You three!" David yelled at three vampires. The four quickly ran down the corridors. Finally, they reached Eve's room. David's skipped in fear. The door had been savagely ripped from its hinges. A lycan's body was on the floor. He spotted the trail of blood and quickly followed it.

"David!" Eve yelled as soon as they spotted each other. She was looking like her hybrid self with her black and blue eyes. She held Jared's shirt in her hands, dragging the young man back toward her room. He looked scared, but uninjured.

"Where's Claire?" David asked.

"In the library," she said.

"Go to my room and stay there!" David yelled as he ran past her. "You know how to get out if you have to." It was slightly good news if the two were making their way back into the coven. It meant that Claire felt that they were going to be safe. That they didn't have to escape.

David spotted the library door and rushed into the room. Two lycans lunged at him. He withdrew his small sword and neatly beheaded one of them while his companions shot the other. He didn't have time to assess the situation further as two hybrids moved away from their leader and rushed at him.

The vampires rushed at one of the hybrids while David dealt with the other. He gave Claire a quick glance. She focused her attacks on the hybrid who was clearly the leader. The large lycan was not nearly as big as the one that Selene fought, but it looked far more menacing. Its opened mouth revealed two very large and dangerous looking teeth.

Claire dodged a swipe of its claws, sliding under the beast's legs and plunging her sword up into its belly. The creature had anticipated her attack, jumping up and away from her, making her sword nick it instead of gutting it.

The hybrid leader had chosen his champions well. One of the vampires was already dead, while the hybrid that attacked David had put him on the defensive. Its flurry of swipes forced the man to step away from the room.

The hybrid leader lunged at Claire and she stepped back, dodging his attack. She screamed in pain as its claw slashed across her face.

"No!" David screamed as he rushed at his opponent, surprising the beast. He thrusted his hand into the creature's chest, pulling out its hearting. The other hybrid killed the last vampire and rushed at David. He didn't want to deal with the creature and immediately punched it in the skull, practically obliterating it.

The hybrid leader hit Claire, sending her across the room and into a set of bookcases. Blood came out of her mouth as she forced herself up. David rushed at the leader and plunged his sword into the creature's back. It howled in pain, quickly turning and lashing at him. He wasn't sure why, but he had underestimated the creature's reach. Pain crossed his chest as the creature's claws ripped into him.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Claire trying her best to get up. But she was still healing from her earlier injuries. He put his focus back on the beast. He only had to kill it and then she could rest. He dodged the leader's attack as it tried to bite him, playing into the creature's plan. Suddenly, he was pulled up into the air and slammed into a knee. He yelled in pain and rolled across the ground. He tried to get up, but was unable to. His back was broken.

The lycan hybrid roared at him, revealing two set of vicious teeth. David's body was already healing, but he knew the creature would attack him before he could fight back. The beast rushed at him only to scream in pain as someone sliced him across the side. He whirled around, smacking Thomas across the face. David's father flew across the room and hit the wall.

The creature roared as it focused on Thomas and ran at him.

"Father!" David yelled as he staggered to his feet.

The beast screamed as Claire jabbed a knife into its neck. She had jumped on the creature's back, wrapping her legs around its body. It reached back and ran its claws across her back, digging into her skin and throwing her off.

David rushed at the creature. Pulling out his knife, he jumped into the air and slammed the knife into the back of the beast's neck. It shook him off and roared, squeezing him. He felt instant relief as his back was snapped back into place. He struggled to break free and then a sword rose up from between them, slicing up through the creature's skull. David moved back giving Claire space to swing and behead the grand leader.

He breathed heavily as did she. They could hear the sounds of fighting, but it was fading. They had won. He had no doubt about that. He limped over toward his father and collapsed onto his knees. Tentatively, he reached out and touched his father. There was no real way to tell if the man was alive or not. He was a vampire after all.

Claire dropped to her knees and leaned against his body. "Your father?" she asked.

David shook his head. "I don't know," he replied. He could smell her blood and turned to look at her. Her right eye was shut and blood pooled down that side of the face. She didn't look at him, instead staring at his father. David winced in pain, but used his right hand to touch her left cheek. She looked up at him and let out a weak smile.

"Told you we'd win," she whispered.

He kissed her cheek. "So you did," he said. He laid back and felt her body move with his. He was afraid. He could already feel his body slowly healing. But she was still healing from earlier. Were her wounds to much for her to heal through?

"You'll live, right?" he asked, as he held her closer.

She didn't answer.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Wow, time really does fly. I swear it feels like I've only updated a couple weeks ago. Sorry for the long wait. I wanted to have at least half of the next chapter done before posting this so you don't have to wait so long for the end. Should be posted in a few days. Anyway, yes, sadly one more chapter. Thank you so much for your reviews. Glad and hope you continue to enjoy till the end.**


	18. Till Death

David stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling. The room around him was cold and unfamiliar. He looked out the little window. It would be daylight soon. He loved and hated the room. It meant that he hadn't dreamed up what had happened which was good and yet bad. So many vampires and lycans had died, and every one of them had been burned. It was a precaution more for the lycans than the others. They didn't know how many of the lycans were hybrids or not and didn't want anyone, human, vampire or lycan, to come across the hybrids.

It was hard to see the vampire bodies burn up so quickly. He knew every person who had died. They weren't dumped together like the lycans. They were laid with great reverence side by side. He recalled each face and name. And then her body entered his mind, so pale, and her red hair framing her face nearly perfectly…

David shivered at the thought and sat up, looking around. The room was probably cold, but he couldn't feel it despite having no shirt on. He was a vampire after all. The door opened and Claire quietly stepped back inside. Within a second he was in front of her. She smiled up at him as he brushed his fingers against her face. "Where have you been?" he asked, searching her face for answers.

She sighed. "If I haven't told you before I'll tell you know. I won't leave you without a goodbye if I have to. You don't have to be afraid of me running off," she said softly.

He shook his head. "I wasn't. I was thinking about your sister," he said. "I was afraid that I had imagined her and it was you who was burned."

She kissed him and he wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "I'm still here," she said after letting him go.

He lightly traced the scar that the lycan leader had left on her face. It was healing and she had assured him that it would soon disappear like the other scars. He believed her. After all, the scratches she had received from previous attacks were long gone. And even this had been far worse four days ago.

David looked down at her quizzically. "Why did you leave?" he asked her.

"Come," she said, as she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room. She led him down the empty halls of the castle they were in. Most of the vampires had retired to their rooms, but he knew that a handful of them were in the security room.

They had barely finished burning the bodies before it was decided that they needed to leave. The thought of finding another stinking, underground, depressing little cave or sewer to live in angered David. There was no telling if the lycans would attack again and it was clear that it was the vampires who were in the most danger of being killed. But before he could voice his dislike Claire had offered the location of one of her safe houses. There were only two rules that she had before taking them. Don't kill the people in the surrounding towns. And there were six rooms that she would personally assign to people. She assured them that there was enough space for everyone, but she didn't want just anyone sleeping in those rooms. They had agreed.

It was an old castle located only a day's drive away. The castle was surrounded by a large fence with security that was top of the line when Alexander was still alive. It had fallen into a little bit of disarray, but not something they couldn't handle. For once, they were able to live in comfort.

It had barely been a day since they moved into the castle and already there was a change in mood among everyone, including Thomas. Thomas' immediate action was to take control of their new situation, despite the fact he was still healing from his injuries, and Claire let him. They had arrived at the castle the night before and Claire had left most of the day, bringing Andrea, Jared's mother, back with her when she returned close to sunset. Although David had wanted to join her he could tell that her mind was somewhere else.

He had felt useless as the day wore on with nothing to do. The normal vampires were all sleeping. Jared, Eve, and Michael stayed at the library, amazingly finding old books with history about the Corvinus family. Meanwhile, Selene searched and memorized every corner of their new home. David didn't have the patience for doing either of those which made him feel even more useless. After Claire returned she was too exhausted to do much. She ended up crawling into bed and was instantly asleep.

Claire squeezed David's hand and he sighed as he focused on the present. They entered a small room that held cleaning supplies. She expertly moved past the various obstacles and reached the back wall.

"I had to make sure it was still here before I showed you," she said, reaching up and pushing hard on a rock. He heard the faint sound of a click and she pushed a small portion of the wall back. The two had to bend as they entered the little stairway. A single torch lit the way. "I'll show you all the secrets," she said as he closed the door behind them. "But this is only for the family." She picked up the torch and he followed her.

They didn't have to go down to far before they came across a door. She undid the bolts and locks then pushed it open revealing a large room. The torch did little to light the entire room, but it didn't matter. He stared in awe at the painting of the rather large tree that was in front of him. It looked exactly like the one that had been in the book. Only, this one was easier to read the names and took up one entire wall.

David crouched. The trunk was small and had the names Alexander and Helena Corvinus. Around them were five branches. David blinked in surprise at the realization that four of the five branches had names after them. William's branch only had two names on it before it ended. Marcus' continued for a short while, but eventually ended as well.

"I'm sorry," David found himself saying.

"For what?" she asked as she leaned in closer to him.

"You just… you don't have descendants," he said before cringing. He didn't want her to get mad at him for making her remember.

She let out a loud sigh. "It wasn't your fault. And who knows. We probably would have never met if I did."

His eyes wandered through the branches that slowly reached into the other wall, then widened in surprise. A large family portrait was on the wall. Elizabeth was right. Claire did look a lot like their mother. Helena sat on a chair with Alexander standing directly behind her. Beside him were his two eldest boys. To her right was Elizabeth, and her left Claire while at her feet was the youngest boy, probably a few years old.

"Amazing," he said. Next to that portrait was one of the children. They were older, probably painted just before they became immortal.

"And rare," she responded, knowing which picture he was looking at. "My father personally painted that shortly after our mother died. It was the last time we were all together."

He reached out and pulled her toward him. "Thank you," he said.

"For what?"

He smiled and kissed her cheek. "For bringing me here."

She nodded. "There is so much to tell you and so much time. I just couldn't figure out where to start. Do I start from my birth? Before you met me? When I became immortal? But then I realized I had to start from here. This is my family, David," she motioned at the tree. "My immediate family may be gone, but their descendants still live. No one, outside of The Family, has seen this room."

She walked toward a glass case that held a mannequin wearing an old wedding dress. Beside the case was another mannequin wearing decorated armor. Weapons were on the walls and in glass cases as well as books. He realized that these were all items from her past. He could picture Helena wearing the wedding dress. And Alexander the armor as he went into battle. This was her home.

The realization stunned him and he didn't move as he processed everything. She had brought them not to just any safe house, but the one place that she had grown up in, possibly born in. Why else would these items be in the room?

He couldn't imagine how difficult and strange it must have been for her to step foot in the place again. There must have been other places, but she chose this one. For him?

He looked over at her. He could see the pain in her eyes as she stared at a ring that was in a case. Slowly, he reached out and grabbed her hand. She smiled up at him, and he nodded toward the door. Neither said a word as they made their way out and back toward her room.

Once again, David couldn't stop his mind from thinking. She was extremely difficult to read, and it was clear to him that she was trying to open up. But after hundreds of years having to keep secrets he couldn't blame her for struggling. It wasn't fair to force her to stay in the castle. She had told him that she wanted to move forward. She didn't want to use her old name. Which meant that eventually she would leave the castle. He stopped in his tracks and she turned to look at him.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

He didn't answer as he pulled her toward him and hugged her. The time would come when he would have to choose between her or his father and the coven. He pushed her away a little bit so that he could look at her face. She looked puzzled. "I-" he said, fully intending on explaining to her his dilemma. He didn't want to keep secrets from her.

"It appears that the old ways are no longer of use to us," Thomas said, interrupting his son. The two looked at the older vampire in surprise. They hadn't heard or expected him to be near them. He limped toward them. His healing was slow, but he pretended not to notice. "I have been hearing mumbling among the others. It appears that they will slowly leave into the world. Maybe it is for the best. Having all of us in one area has proven disastrous." He looked at Claire. "But I do believe that this is a perfect haven for all of us. If we are need of each other's company or in danger. Some of us may stay behind and manage the place," he paused for a moment and looked around. David realized what his father was doing. Hinting that he would stay to keep the castle in shape while letting everyone else explore the world. His father was setting him free. "But we can discuss the details at a later date." He gave them a small smile, nodding his head, before he continued his stroll down the hall.

"Father," David called out. Thomas paused and glanced back. "Thank you."

The old vampire shrugged his shoulders and disappeared into the other hall.

David smiled as he looked down at Claire. His father had freed him. He knew that he would have been miserable one way or the other. Yes, he would have loved being with Claire and helping her in whatever she did. But in the back of his mind he would always chastise himself for leaving his father and the other vampires. On the other hand, if he had stayed then he would have wondered about Claire. They would have kept in touch, but for how long? She wouldn't be able to stay near him and leave her charges without protection.

"Claire," he said, holding tightly to her hands. "Will you let me help you protect your family? I want to follow you wherever you go. Till death."

"Hmm," she said softly as she pretended to think. "You do realize that I'm immortal. There may be no death. I'm also very stubborn, having lived for a while, and kind of set in my ways. We will fight. Till death may be forever."

He smiled and pulled her close to him. "Good. An immortal life would start to lose interest if there was no conflict," he said before kissing her.

She laughed.

"Also, if make-up sex is amazing for humans, it has to be out of this world for us," he whispered in her ear.

She yelped as he picked her up, carrying her toward their room. She reached up and kissed him. Whatever the future had in store for them, he would face it with Claire by his side. Until the day they died.

**A/N: Thanks so much for your reviews and enjoying this story. I had a lot of fun writing it. Hope you enjoyed the end.**


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